Intel (INTC +1.07%), which hopes to regain its once-powerful position on the chip market, has made an important hire for a critical manufacturing unit. It chose a veteran in that industry, and investors rewarded the company by pushing its stock more than 2% higher on Monday. That performance looked good when compared to the flat trajectory of the S&P 500 index on the day.
A new head of an important business unit
That hire is Kevin O'Buckley, whose tenure started that day. As general manager of Intel's foundry services, its contract chip-making unit, O'Buckley will report directly to CEO Pat Gelsinger. The incoming chief succeeds Stuart Pann, who is retiring from the company after a 35-year tenure but will serve as an advisor to its operations.
O'Buckley is a longtime veteran of the semiconductor industry. Immediately prior to his hiring at Intel, he was senior vice president at Marvell Technology where in a nearly five-year stint he served as general manager of that company's application-specific integrated-circuits (ASIC) business, among other positions.
Prior to that, among other companies and positions, he worked for nearly 18 years at IBM in a variety of management roles. The latest of these was director of technology development.
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Visions of an AI-powered future
Intel hopes O'Buckley's extensive experience will help it become a power player in chips for artificial intelligence (AI) in particular.
The company quoted CEO Gelsinger as saying that
As we continue building the world's first systems foundry for the AI era, Kevin will play a critical role in helping customers achieve their goals by leveraging Intel Foundry's unique ability to deliver process and packaging technology through a resilient and sustainable supply chain.
