SAN FRANCISCO, California: Intel said that board Chair Frank Yeary will retire after 17 years with the company, marking another leadership change as CEO Lip-Bu Tan continues efforts to reshape the struggling chipmaker.

Current board member and veteran semiconductor executive Craig Barratt will take over as chair following Intel's annual shareholder meeting in May.

Yeary's departure comes a year after Tan became CEO and adds to a series of board changes at the Santa Clara, California-based company. Last year, three directors announced their retirements weeks after Tan took the helm. Since then, Tan has pushed a turnaround strategy focused on revitalizing manufacturing and simplifying the company by cutting middle-management jobs.

Intel dominated the U.S. chip industry for decades, but faltered after around 2010 when it failed to produce a successful mobile phone chip and lagged behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co in advanced manufacturing.

In a statement, Yeary praised Intel's progress in restoring its manufacturing capabilities and noted that he and the board had selected Tan as CEO last year.

Yeary joined Intel's board in 2009 and became chair in 2023. During his tenure, he oversaw four CEO transitions and navigated the company's manufacturing decline alongside the rise of TSMC.

"I think his departure was long overdue," Seaport Securities analyst Jay Goldberg said. "Intel has made a lot of bad decisions," while Yeary has been on the board, he said.

Three former Intel executives told Reuters that replacing Yeary, an investor and corporate adviser, with a seasoned semiconductor executive was a positive move.

Intel said its board has been working to refresh its composition, which over the years included executives from sectors such as medical devices and aerospace, in addition to financiers.

"The board has been intentional in its refreshment efforts, adding directors with skills and backgrounds to map to the future opportunities and challenges the company faces, as well as the experience and perspectives to support Intel's evolving strategy and long-term stockholder interests," the company said in a press release announcing Yeary's retirement.

Before Tan was appointed CEO, he served on Intel's board alongside Yeary but left amid differences over the company's turnaround plans.

The incoming chair, Barratt, joined Intel's board in 2025 and has prior experience at Qualcomm and briefly at Intel. He is not related to former Intel CEO Craig Barrett.

"Lip-Bu's biggest challenge is changing Intel's culture, and professionalizing the board will help with that a lot," Goldberg said, referring to Barratt's appointment.

Since becoming CEO, Tan has introduced sweeping changes, including cutting roughly 20 percent of Intel's workforce last year as part of a strategy to compete in artificial intelligence. He has also pledged to continue operating Intel's factories and to pursue customers for its next-generation 14A manufacturing technology.

Tan drew attention from U.S. President Donald Trump over the summer, when Trump called for his resignation over alleged conflicts of interest. Tan has since won support from the administration, which negotiated a 10 percent stake in Intel rather than provide funds under the CHIPS Act.