In December 2024, Intel CFO and interim co-CEO David Zinsner said he expected the company’s next CEO to bring experience in both foundry operations and product businesses. He also said he was not involved in choosing the successor. His view reflected Intel’s dual challenge: competing with its chips while rebuilding its manufacturing and foundry operation.
What did David Zinsner say about Intel’s next CEO?
On December 5, 2024, HotHardware reported Zinsner’s expectation that Intel’s next CEO would have capability on both the foundry and product sides. The report attributed the remarks to Reuters and said Zinsner had spoken at a conference. Zinsner explicitly said he was not part of the selection process. His comments were his prediction about the experience the role might require—not an official job description or a confirmed list of board criteria. Read the December 5 report.
Why did Intel need both product and foundry experience?
Intel had two connected but distinct jobs: develop and sell competitive chips, and improve its manufacturing capabilities, including its effort to operate as a foundry. Product leadership involves understanding chip design, customers and portfolio execution. Foundry leadership involves manufacturing operations and the demands of serving manufacturing customers. Zinsner’s point was that the next CEO should be able to address both sides, rather than focus on one at the expense of the other.
Intel’s December 2024 SEC filing likewise described putting products at the center of its strategy while returning to process leadership and improving foundry capabilities. That was the company’s framing in the filing; it should not be confused with Zinsner’s personal prediction about the successor’s profile. See Intel’s December 3, 2024 Form 8-K.
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What was happening in Intel’s CEO search?
Intel’s Form 8-K says Pat Gelsinger’s resignation took effect on December 1, 2024. On that date, Intel appointed Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus interim co-CEOs and formed a board committee to identify, evaluate and recommend candidates for permanent CEO. The filing also says Holthaus was appointed CEO of Intel Products. Those appointments and the committee’s work establish the context for Zinsner’s remarks a few days later.
How should the comments be read now?
The search discussed in December 2024 is a historical episode, not an open search. Later conference material from 2026 identifies Lip-Bu Tan as Intel’s CEO. At a June 2, 2026 Bank of America conference, Zinsner discussed Intel’s x86 design and manufacturing assets and characterized execution and culture as central turnaround issues. Read the conference summary.
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At a Deutsche Bank conference on August 26, 2026, Zinsner also discussed process execution, advanced packaging, data-center CPU demand and capacity investment. He described 18A yields as progressing against internal milestones and discussed a planned 2028 target for 14A high-volume manufacturing. These were dated management comments about progress and plans—not independently verified results, and not remarks from the 2024 CEO search. Read the conference transcript.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the 2024 outlook did—and did not—establish
The December 2024 coverage also discussed forecasts for 2025 foundry margins, cost cuts and wafer mix. Those were expectations made at the time, not evidence that the targets were later achieved. They are separate from Zinsner’s central comment: in his view, Intel’s next CEO would need to understand both its product business and its foundry challenge.
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- 20 cores (8 P-cores plus 12 E-cores) and 28 threads. Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 770 included
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- Compatible with Intel 600-series (with potential BIOS update) or 700-series chipset-based motherboards
- DDR4 and DDR5 platform support cuts your load times and gives you the space to run the most demanding games
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