Pat Gelsinger may be replaced as permanent CEO of rival chip giant Intel by Thomas Caulfield, CEO of Globalfoundries Inc.(GF), according to a numerous reports.
Speculation has been sparked by GF’s recent announcement of an executive reshuffle. Because of this, reports have buzzed if Caulfield is destined to serve as executive chair of a company that was created by the combination of Globalfoundries and Intel.
The recently announced changes, which came into effect on April 28, include Tim Breen moving from COO to CEO and Caulfield becoming executive chairman.
Because of the unexpected reorganization at GF, analysts reexamined Caulfield’s qualifications for the top position at Intel, which has been run by interim co-CEOs since Gelsinger’s resignation in December 2024.
After ten years with GF, Caulfield has been its CEO for the past seven of those years. Caulfield made the calculated choice to concentrate on speciality chips at the start of his time in the top position rather than attempting to compete with Samsung, TSMC, and Intel at the forefront of chip manufacture. In the end, this decision paid off, as GlobalFoundries turned a profit and went public in 2021.
Caulfield is approximately 65 years old, thus it could make sense for him to take over as executive chair of GlobalFoundries after seven years. Even so, it might imply that he wouldn’t have the resources to serve as Intel’s CEO.
Conflicts of interest might also arise if the two companies were separate. Furthermore, Caulfield has experience in the semiconductor production area and has not been in charge of a product firm, which is primarily what Intel is.
With Breen in charge of combining GF with Intel Foundry and promoting a customer-focused business model, and Caulfield serving as executive chair of the combined company and Michelle Johnston Holthaus as CEO of the product division, there have been rumors that a corporate merger may be imminent.
The combination is a natural fit because Globalfoundries has been serving customers behind the cutting edge but would benefit from a roadmap to more advanced geometries, while Intel’s R&D under Gelsinger has worked to bring the business back to the forefront with its 18A manufacturing node.
Since 2018, Breen has worked for GlobalFoundries. He was a member of the management team of Mubadala Investment firm, the majority owner of the stock-exchanged listed GlobalFoundries, prior to joining the firm.
An Intel-Globalfoundries combination would most likely need international regulatory permission, which the Chinese government may refuse to supply given the increasingly antagonistic geopolitical environment. Nonetheless, in the same geopolitical spirit, the US government, Intel, and GlobalFoundries may decide to proceed anyhow.
Intel had previously tried to acquire Tower Semiconductor to boost its foundry business and that deal foundered on a lack of approval from the Chinese anti-trust regulator. In that case the companies have remained separate but struck up a major cooperation with Intel agreeing to provide manufacturing capacity to Tower.
An earlier attempt by Intel to expand its foundry business by acquiring Tower Semiconductor failed due to the Chinese anti-trust regulator’s disapproval. In that instance, the businesses have maintained their independence while forming a significant partnership with Intel, which has agreed to supply Tower with production capacity.
Intel may name Caulfield as CEO while he is still executive chair at Globalfoundries in anticipation of a lack of support for a merger, and they may turn to him to act as a link between two much more similar businesses in the future.
Expecting an absence of support for a merger Intel might appoint Caulfield as CEO while he remains executive chair at Globalfoundries and look to him to serve as the bridge between two much more closely aligned companies going forward.
Inputs taken from, eeNewsEurope
