Intel Corporation's new CEO made his public debut for the first time: he plans to divest non-core departments as a top priority and his first task is to recruit talent.

Newly appointed CEO of Intel Corporation (INTC.US), Chen Liwu, stated that the company will divest assets unrelated to its mission and develop new products, including custom semiconductors, to better align with customers. However, he did not specify which businesses he believes are no longer core to the future of Intel Corporation. Chen Liwu made his first public appearance as CEO at the Intel Corporation VISION conference in Las Vegas on Monday. He stated that one of his top priorities is to replenish some of the talent lost by the chipmaker in recent years. He mentioned the company's need to recruit talented engineers and retain existing talent. Chen Liwu also mentioned the company's need to improve its balance sheet, adjust manufacturing processes to meet the needs of potential customers better. He told Intel Corporation's corporate clients, "We have a lot of hard work ahead of us. We have not met your expectations in some areas." The seasoned semiconductor executive is aiming to restore Intel Corporation to its former glory. Intel Corporation once dominated the industry for decades but now lags behind competitors in several key areas. One core issue facing the company's management is whether Intel Corporation should continue to maintain its integrated business structure or split its key products and manufacturing businesses to drive transformation. Chen Liwu did not hint at any core businesses he plans to divest from Intel Corporation. Instead, he emphasized the issues he needs to address to make these two business units operate more successfully. He pointed out that Intel Corporation's chip performance for data centers and AI-related work is not outstanding. He admitted, "Our innovation is behind. We have been too slow to respond to market demands." At the age of 65, Chen Liwu officially took office on March 18. His appointment had initially sparked optimism in the market and attracted some investors to pay attention to Intel Corporation's stock again. However, since then, with tech stocks experiencing a general sell-off, Intel Corporation's stock price has declined. Chen Liwu was a member of the Intel Corporation board of directors until he resigned in August 2024. He mentioned being asked why he accepted this challenge at this stage of his career since becoming CEO. He said, "Seeing Intel Corporation in distress pains me. I couldn't stand by knowing I could help." Former Intel Corporation CEO Pat Gelsinger was removed from his position by the board for failing to successfully revive Intel Corporation's product line. One of the most significant challenges facing Intel Corporation is developing AI acceleration chips that can compete with NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US). Over the past two years, benefiting from the AI computing boom, NVIDIA Corporation's revenue and market value have soared, while the company had long been in Intel Corporation's shadow. In addition, Pat Gelsinger had planned to transform Intel Corporation into a chip foundry, manufacturing chips for external customers, but this plan is still in the early stages. Chen Liwu stated that the company needs to listen to potential external customers for its foundry, allowing them to specify the design and manufacturing of products, rather than having Intel Corporation decide how to proceed. He pointed out that many large customers want custom chips, and Intel Corporation will meet their needs. Chen Liwu repeatedly emphasized that there are no quick solutions to Intel Corporation's problems but promised to stay with the company until the transformation is complete. He said, "This won't happen overnight, but I believe we can do it."