Craig Barratt To Succeed Intel Chair Frank Yeary In May

Frank Yeary said he was ‘grateful to have been part of the board’s work, particularly over the last 18 months.’

Amid a series of executive shakeups at Intel since Lip-Bu Tan took over as CEO, Frank Yeary will retire in May after almost 20 years on the chipmaker’s board, with former Intel executive and current board member Craig Barratt taking over Yeary’s chair position.

Yeary will retire on May 13 after the Santa Clara, Calif.-based vendor’s annual stockholders’ meeting, Intel said in a statement Tuesday. He joined the board in 2009 and became chair in 2023.

Barratt shouldn’t be confused with the similarly named Craig Barrett, who served as Intel CEO from 1998 to 2005 and board chairman until 2009.

Yeary said he was “grateful to have been part of the board’s work, particularly over the last 18 months” in a statement. He said the board’s work has been a critical step in what will be a multi-year effort to restore Intel’s execution excellence, strengthen its financial foundation and reestablish its innovation engine. Yeary also stood by his decision to make Tan CEO.

Intel Board Change

CRN has reached out to Intel for comment.

Yeary said that “the board worked with Lip-Bu from the outset of his tenure - aligning on priorities, refocusing and clarifying Intel’s strategy, and reinforcing an engineering-centric and customer-focused culture grounded in performance and customer commitment.”

With a stronger balance sheet, meaningful progress across our roadmap – including Intel 18A and 14A – and a clear path forward under Lip-Bu, this is the appropriate time for me to step down as chair and from the board and transition leadership to a new independent chair,” he said.

Tan thanked Yeary for his commitment to the vendor and leadership “during one of the most consequential periods in Intel’s history” in a statement.

“Frank led the effort to bring me in as the company’s CEO, encouraged disciplined board oversight, and reinforced strong board governance,” Tan said. “With his and the board’s support, I have been empowered to take decisive actions to strengthen our financial foundation, advance our process roadmap and position the company for long-term competitiveness. His leadership helped guide Intel through a period of transformation and onto firmer footing for the next phase.”

Barratt, meanwhile, “brings deep semiconductor expertise and a strong record of technology and operational leadership in complex, engineering-driven businesses,” the CEO said. “As we enter our next phase – focused on disciplined execution, product leadership and foundry progress – his experience will be instrumental in supporting management and driving sustainable long-term value for stockholders.”

Barratt said in a statement that he is “honored to lead the board’s continued focus on supporting rigorous execution, investing in and scaling U.S.-anchored R&D and manufacturing, and ensuring Intel is well positioned to compete and win in the years ahead.”

Yeary has also served on the boards of Mobileye and PayPal. He has served as managing member of private investment firm Darwin Capital Advisors since 2012 and served as vice chancellor of University of California, Berkeley, from 2008 to 2012.

Barratt has been an independent board director since November. He also serves on the boards of medical device company Intuitive and semiconductor company Astera Labs. Barratt has a doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

He previously worked at Intel for about a year when the chipmaker bought Barefoot Networks, where Barratt served as CEO for about two years, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Intel in 2020 after serving as senior vice president of the ethernet, photonics and networking businesses.

The new independent chair also worked at Google for about four years, leaving in 2017 as an SVP. He previously led fabless semiconductor company Atheros Communications to an initial public offer in 2004, later selling the company to Qualcomm in 2011. He served as Qualcomm’s Atheros president until 2013, joining Google that year.

Yeary Played Big Role In Intel Transition

Yeary was reportedly a big driver of the ouster of former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger near the end of 2024, according to a CNBC article from the time. After Gelsinger’s ouster, Yeary became interim executive chairman. Yeary returned to the independent chair role with Tan’s hiring as CEO.

Yeary supported Tan’s hire, calling him an exceptional leader whose technology industry expertise, deep relationships across the product and foundry ecosystems, and proven track record of creating shareholder value at the time.

Last year, reports emerged that Yeary proposed spinning out Intel Foundry and engaged Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) about a deal for Intel fabs. Tan saw the manufacturing business as critical to Intel’s future and the U.S supply chain.

It was also a U.S. senator’s letter to Yeary that also put Tan in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump, who eventually backed off calls for Tan’s resignation.

Yeary and Barratt mark the latest leadership transition for Intel as it tries to reclaim dominance in the semiconductor space. This year has seen Intel lose the executive who led Intel’s efforts to win over customers for its contract chip manufacturing business, for example. But the vendor has also brought in top talent, including a new senior vice president of government affairs and senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer.