[News] Outgoing GlobalFoundries CEO Caulfield Rumored for Intel’s New Leader

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While Intel is still hunting for a new CEO, one candidate stands out to revive its foundry business. Following the leadership shake-up of GlobalFoundries, the new arrangement has fueled speculation that the outgoing CEO Thomas Caulfield could take over at Intel or its foundry division, whether spun out or not, according to a report from BITS&CHIPS.

On February 5^th, U.S. foundry giant GlobalFoundries named veteran Tim Breen as CEO, while Thomas Caulfield became Executive Chairman. The change will take effect on April 28, 2025, according to its press release.

Notably, Caulfield became President and CEO of GF in 2018, and during his tenure he repositioned the technology portfolio to focus on differentiated, essential chips and steered the company to sustainable profitability.

Shortly after GlobalFoundries exited the race for cutting-edge chips, the company turned profitable in 2019 for the first time even without the funds it received from fab divestitures to ON Semiconductor and Vanguard International Semiconductor, as highlighted by a Forbes report.

GlobalFoundries went public on the Nasdaq in October, 2021, raising nearly USD 2.6 billion in its IPO. Amid a global chip shortage at that time, it became Nasdaq’s largest U.S. IPO of 2021 and the biggest semiconductor IPO in its history.

However, the BITS&CHIPS report also notes that while Caulfield appears well-suited to lead Intel Foundry, his resume lacks clear experience in IC design, with a background in materials science and engineering.

While Intel is at a critical juncture in manufacturing, with its future resting on the commercial success of its 18A and 14A nodes, the next CEO would definitely be the key leader to guide it out of the mist. Intel has confirmed that its Panther Lake processor, the first to utilize the Intel 18A process node, will debut in the second half of 2025.

According to a previous Bloomberg report, the struggling giant is prioritizing external candidates in its search for a new CEO. The potential contenders, to name a few, are said to include Marvell CEO Matt Murphy and Lip-Bu Tan, former CEO of Cadence as well as a former member of Intel’s board, according to the report.

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(Photo credit: GlobalFoundries)