Intel announced CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired, an unsurprising development given the company’s current state and the issues surrounding Gelsinger’s attempted turnaround efforts.

Frank Yeary, interim executive chair of the board, touted Gelsinger’s efforts to revitalize the company’s manufacturing process, while at the same time acknowledging that much remains to do.

“On behalf of the board, I want to thank Pat for his many years of service and dedication to Intel across a long career in technology leadership,” Year said. “Pat spent his formative years at Intel, then returned at a critical time for the company in 2021. As a leader, Pat helped launch and revitalize process manufacturing by investing in state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing, while working tirelessly to drive innovation throughout the company.

“While we have made significant progress in regaining manufacturing competitiveness and building the capabilities to be a world-class foundry, we know that we have much more work to do at the company and are committed to restoring investor confidence,” Year continued. “As a board, we know first and foremost that we must put our product group at the center of all we do. Our customers demand this from us, and we will deliver for them. With MJ’s permanent elevation to CEO of Intel Products along with her interim co-CEO role of Intel, we are ensuring the product group will have the resources needed to deliver for our customers. Ultimately, returning to process leadership is central to product leadership, and we will remain focused on that mission while driving greater efficiency and improved profitability.”

Gelsinger, who’s retirement is effective December 1, said being CEO of the company was the honor of his lifetime.

“Leading Intel has been the honor of my lifetime – this group of people is among the best and the brightest in the business, and I’m honored to call each and every one a colleague. Today is, of course, bittersweet as this company has been my life for the bulk of my working career. I can look back with pride at all that we have accomplished together. It has been a challenging year for all of us as we have made tough but necessary decisions to position Intel for the current market dynamics. I am forever grateful for the many colleagues around the world who I have worked with as part of the Intel family.”

A Series of Missteps

Gelsinger was tapped to replace Bob Swan as CEO of the beleaguered chipmaker in early 2021, with the hope that his strong engineering background would help the company return to its manufacturing roots and regain its past glory.

At the time, Gelsinger was vocal in his belief that past CEOs had lost their way, and promised to bring back the “maniacal” focus on manufacturing that made the company such a powerhouse in past years.

In some ways, Gelsinger succeeded with his mandate. Under his leadership, the company invested billions to build out its manufacturing capabilities, setting up new factories and foundries around the world. The company also became the poster child for a resurgence of US-based manufacturing, receiving billions from the CHIPS ACT, aimed at bolstering US semiconductor manufacturing.

Nonetheless, under his tenure, Intel also experienced devastating layoffs, and some of the worst quarterly results in company history. The company has seen some of its top engineers leave, many to join rivals or start their own chip firms.

Throughout its troubles, Gelsinger has often been dismissive of rivals, especially ARM and AMD. Gelsinger has been notoriously dismissive of ARM’s potential to upend the industry.

And overall, I think what you’re seeing is the industry is excited around the AIPC. And as I declared this generation of AIPC at our Innovation Conference a couple of months ago, we’re seeing that materialize and customers, competitors seeing excitement around that. ARM and Windows client alternatives, generally, they’ve been relegated to pretty insignificant roles in the PC business.

Despite that confident proclamation, ARM has continued to grow as a threat to Intel’s dominance, with Microsoft even launching its Windows Copilot PCs on ARM architecture first.

Similarly, Gelsinger has been quick to dismiss AMD, despite the smaller company consistently beating Intel technologically.

“Alder Lake, all of sudden, boom! We are back in the game! AMD in the rearview mirror in clients, and never again will they be in the windshield,” Gelsinger said in early 2022.

A Mixed Legacy

To add insult to injury, Intel’s fortunes under Gelsinger have fallen so low that Qualcomm expressed interest in buying the company, either in whole or in part. Reports indicated that Intel leadership was open to the deal, seeing it as a viable option to help turn the company around.

The fact that Intel is even seen as a potential takeover target, let alone that the company’s leadership would be open to the possibility, is a stark milestone that illustrates just how far it has fallen from its glory days.

While Gelsinger has done much to revitalize the company’s manufacturing, there’s no denying that his tenure as CEO will be marked by a mixed legacy, one that left the company more vulnerable than it has ever been in its long and storied history.