HILLSBORO, Ore. – Just nine months after being promoted to lead Intel’s chip design business, Michelle Johnston Holthaus, the company’s most senior female executive and its top Oregon-based leader, is leaving her post.
Sudden Departure
Intel announced Monday in a securities filing that Holthaus had resigned from her executive role. The company did not provide a reason for her decision but said she would remain in a non-executive capacity until March 2026 “to ensure a smooth transition.”
Holthaus, who joined Intel more than 30 years ago, had been one of the longest-serving executives at the company. Her exit, while significant, comes as little surprise to industry watchers. Since Lip-Bu Tan took over as CEO in March, Holthaus has had a diminished public presence.
Tan has been blunt in criticizing the product roadmap he inherited, emphasizing that Intel needs to realign its chip design strategy and listen more closely to customers. He even pledged to personally review all major chip designs moving forward.
“My directive to our silicon and platform teams is to define products with clean and simple architecture, better cost structure, to simplify our stack—all while enabling a path to robust profit margin,” Tan told analysts in August.
Leadership Transitions
Holthaus’ promotion in December 2024 came after the board forced out former CEO Pat Gelsinger. At that time, she was named CEO of Intel Products, the division responsible for chips powering PCs, laptops, and data centers—a business that generates about two-thirds of Intel’s revenue.
During the leadership gap between Gelsinger’s exit and Tan’s arrival, Holthaus also briefly served as interim co-CEO of the entire company.
In a statement, Tan praised her contributions: “She has made a lasting impact on our company and inspired so many of us with her leadership.”
Holthaus earned $12.6 million in compensation in 2024. Under her February employment agreement, she became eligible for severance benefits if she resigned for “good reason,” a clause triggered by a “material reduction” in her authority, duties, or title. Intel confirmed she invoked that provision in her resignation.
Broader Leadership Shakeup
Her departure follows the retirement of Ann Kelleher, Intel’s former head of technology development, earlier this year. Together, the two exits mean that Oregon has lost its top two Intel leaders in 2025.
With Holthaus stepping aside, only one woman remains among Intel’s top seven executives: April Miller Boise, the company’s chief legal officer.
Intel simultaneously announced a series of new leadership moves:
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Kevork Kechichian, a former Arm Holdings engineer, will lead Intel’s data center group, reporting directly to Tan.
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Srinivasan (Srini) Iyengar, hired from Cadence Design Systems in June, will head a newly created central engineering group.
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Naga Chandrasekaran will expand his responsibilities as head of Intel’s manufacturing arm, Intel Foundry.
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Jim Johnson, who had been interim leader of the PC division, will stay on in that role permanently.
Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner told investors that Intel’s data center chips are currently not competitive, and that it may take several years to overhaul the product portfolio. “We will be adjusting the roadmap to make sure we are listening to customers and delivering products that customers want and need,” Zinsner said.
Oregon’s Place in Intel’s Future
Intel’s Oregon operations, concentrated in Washington County, remain its largest and most advanced hub, employing about 17,000 people. Yet the company’s most senior decision-makers continue to work out of Silicon Valley and other states, leaving questions about Oregon’s influence in the company’s strategic direction.
With Holthaus’ exit, Jim Johnson becomes the highest-ranking Intel executive based in Oregon. While Oregon continues to play a crucial role in research, development, and manufacturing, the loss of two of its most prominent leaders underscores a shifting center of gravity within Intel’s global operations.
Looking Ahead
Holthaus’ resignation highlights the ongoing restructuring under Lip-Bu Tan, who has pledged to simplify Intel’s product strategy and restore its competitiveness in the face of rivals like AMD, Nvidia, and Arm.
For Intel, the leadership changes mark a critical turning point. For Oregon, they signal a diminished executive presence at the company that has long been the state’s largest private employer.
Holthaus leaves behind a legacy as a trailblazing female leader in the semiconductor industry, a rarity in the male-dominated tech world. Her departure raises fresh questions about Intel’s commitment to executive diversity and about what comes next for its Oregon campus.
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