Intel’s board entrusted Lip-Bu Tan, the company’s newly appointed chief executive, with leading a high-stakes turnaround of the struggling American chipmaker.
But in a highly unusual turn of events, President Trump on Thursday called on the Malaysian-born chief executive to resign, writing on Truth Social that Mr. Tan was “highly CONFLICTED” because of his past investments in Chinese companies. It was one of the first times that Mr. Trump has attempted to directly intervene with the leadership of a major publicly traded company.
Here’s what to know.
Who is Lip-Bu Tan?
Mr. Tan, 65, is an American citizen who was born in Malaysia and grew up in Singapore. He came to the United States for graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a master’s degree in nuclear engineering.
Later, Mr. Tan moved to San Francisco where he ran a venture capital firm, Walden International. Mr. Tan focused much of his attention on Asia, especially on the rise of Taiwan and China as hubs of chip making and design.
Walden International has invested $5 billion over 30 years, sinking money into 600 companies in 12 countries. Many of Walden’s deals were in China, where Mr. Tan’s knowledge of Mandarin and extensive network of contacts proved useful. He was an early investor and former board member of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, a leading Chinese chip maker.
Why was he chosen as Intel’s chief executive?
Mr. Tan’s résumé includes a deep knowledge of the semiconductor industry, where he had engineered a successful corporate turnaround before.
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The post Meet the Intel C.E.O. in Trump’s Cross Hairs appeared first on New York Times.
