Intel has announced that Dr. Craig H. Barratt will become its new independent board chairman in mid-May, replacing Frank D. Yeary who is retiring after approximately 17 years on the board.
Barratt, an engineer and semiconductor executive with decades of experience at companies like Atheros, Qualcomm, and Google, is expected to lead Intel as an integrated device manufacturer focused on rigorous execution and U.S.-based R&D and manufacturing.
This leadership change follows Yeary's tenure, during which he had previously advocated for splitting Intel's product design and manufacturing units, a strategy now being set aside.
The main topics covered are: a corporate leadership change at Intel, the background and vision of the new chairman, and the strategic direction of the company.
Intel Chairman Frank Yeary retires, Craig Barrat to become the new chairman of the Board of Directors
Craig Barrat to become new chairman of Intel.
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Intel late on Tuesday announced that its board of directors had elected Dr. Craig H. Barratt as independent chairman, who will assume his role in mid-May after the company's Annual Stockholders’ Meeting. Craig H. Barratt, who has an engineering background, will replace Frank D. Yeary, who will retire from Intel's BoD after spending around 17 years there.
Barrat replaces Frank D. Yeary, who has a financial background and who once tried to split Intel into products and manufacturing companies and then get rid of the company's manufacturing assets. Instead of splitting Intel, Craig H. Barratt seems to envision the company as an integrated devices manufacturer with rigorous execution.
"The company has taken significant steps to strengthen its financial position, advance its technology and product roadmap, and enhance operational discipline," said Barratt. "The board thanks Frank for his leadership and for helping position Intel for this next phase. I am honored to lead the board's continued focus on supporting rigorous execution, investing in and scaling U.S.-anchored R&D and manufacturing, and ensuring Intel is well positioned to compete and win in the years ahead."
Barratt is a longtime semiconductor executive and entrepreneur with more than three decades of experience spanning wireless connectivity and networking silicon while working at Intel and Qualcomm. Over the course of his career, he has worked across both startups and major technology companies and has plenty of experience in leading engineering-centric organizations and bringing complex silicon products to market.
Barratt is best known for leading Atheros Communications, a leading supplier of Wi-Fi processors for PCs, networking gear, and consumer electronics. Under his leadership, the firm expanded rapidly during the early wireless-networking boom, went public in 2004, and was eventually acquired by Qualcomm for roughly $3.1 billion. Following the acquisition, Craig H. Barratt served as president of Qualcomm Atheros, where he was in charge of connectivity silicon used in a wide range of devices from smartphones and PCs to routers and switches.
After leaving Qualcomm, Craig H. Barratt worked as Senior Vice President, Access and Energy, at Google from 2012 until 2017. Later on, he briefly led Barefoot Networks, a startup developing programmable Ethernet switching processors aimed at gamers that Intel acquired in 2019, and afterward oversaw Intel's Ethernet and networking businesses that were part of Intel's Data Platforms Group.
Barratt returned to Intel in November 2025 by joining the board as an independent director. Barratt serves as a director at companies such as Astera Labs and Intuitive Surgical, which provide him exposure to both data center infrastructure and advanced robotics systems.
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Barratt earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University after completing earlier studies in Australia.
"With a stronger balance sheet, meaningful progress across our roadmap — including Intel 18A and 14A — and a clear path forward under Lip-Bu, this is the appropriate time for me to step down as chair and from the board and transition leadership to a new independent chair,” said Yeary.
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Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.
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Dustyboy1492 Nice to see, Yeary's tenure has seen Intel faulter significantly, time for new blood and a return to engineering leadership.Reply -
thestryker They needed to get rid of Yeary with Swan (realistically earlier, but this would have been a good time too) and maybe we'd be looking at a different Intel today. While I'd have rather Intel stuck to more of Gelsinger's trajectory hopefully this means the board will not get in Lip-Bu Tan's way as much.Reply -
JRStern Reply
Understatement of the week, at least.Dustyboy1492 said:Nice to see, Yeary's tenure has seen Intel faulter significantly, time for new blood and a return to engineering leadership. -
JRStern Reply
That would be nice.User of Computers said:Finally someone competent to lead the board!
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