Intel has been running without a fixed CEO for over seven months, with former chief financial officer (CFO) Bob Swan taking the reins in the interim. After much deliberation, Swan will be taking the position full-time, named Intel’s seventh CEO.

Swan is most prominently known for his nine-year tenure at eBay Inc, eventually assuming the role of CFO. Moving over to Intel in 2016, Swan held the same role until he was asked to fill in as acting CEO, replacing Brian Krzanich after his relationship with an employee was exposed. Although consensual, a contractual clause forbade this behaviour, seeing Krzanich ousted from the company.

“In my role as interim CEO, I’ve developed an even deeper understanding of Intel’s opportunities and challenges, our people and our customers,” Swan announced in a statement to the press.  “When the board approached me to take on the role permanently, I jumped at the chance to lead this special company. This is an exciting time for Intel: 2018 was an outstanding year and we are in the midst of transforming the company to pursue our biggest market opportunity ever. I’m honored to have the chance to continue working alongside our board, our leadership team, and our more than 107,000 superb employees as we take the company forward.”

While 10nm chips are still trudging along a bumpy road, Intel hasn’t exactly been suffering under Swan’s leadership. Just yesterday, the company managed to launch its high-end 28-core Xeon W-3175X. Unfortunately, Intel still has another search on its hands as VP of finance and director of Intel’s corporate planning and reporting Todd Underwood will take over CFO duties in the interim, prompting the company to look for another replacement.

KitGuru Says: Swan is seemingly a lot more confident about the role than initial reports suggested, finding his feet. Hopefully strong management will direct the company through its recent rough patches and provide better competition against AMD moving forward.

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