Who is new Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan?

(Reuters) - Intel tapped former board member Lip-Bu Tan as its CEO on Wednesday, as the struggling American chipmaking icon attempts to emerge from one of its bleakest periods.

Tan, a respected semiconductor industry veteran who will take the mantle on March 18, had been seen as a CEO contender since Intel ousted company veteran Pat Gelsinger last year.

Here are some details about him:

* A 65-year-old Malaysian-born executive, Tan studiedphysics at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. * He holds a master's degree in nuclear engineering from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MBA from theUniversity of San Francisco. * A longtime technology investor, he has played differentroles at several companies. He is chairperson of WaldenInternational, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, since1984. * Tan helmed Intel supplier and chip-design maker CadenceDesign Systems between 2009 and 2021. * He was on the boards of Hewlett Packard Enterprise andSoftBank Group. * Tan was appointed to Intel's board in 2022 as part of aplan to restore the company's place as the leading globalchipmaker. A year later, Intel expanded his responsibilities toinclude oversight of manufacturing operations. However, Tanstepped down from the board last year over disagreements on howto turn around the company. * On Wednesday, in a letter to Intel employees, Tan signaledhe would not split up the company's design and manufacturingbusinesses. "Intel plays an essential role in the technologyecosystem, both in the U.S. and around the world. And, together,I'm confident we can turn our business around," he said.

Source: LinkedIn, Intel website

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru and Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona)