New Intel CEO says his top priority is recruiting the best talent; urges customers to provide ‘brutally honest’ feedback

SAN FRANCISCO: In his first remarks as Intel’s new CEO, Singapore-raised Mr Tan Lip-Bu said that his top priority is recruiting the best talent in the industry and giving engineers the freedom to innovate, as Reuters reported.

Noting that the company had fallen far short of customer expectations, Mr Tan, speaking at Intel’s “Vision” event in Las Vegas, where the company was engaging with customers about new products, urged the audience to be “brutally honest” with their feedback, as he believes “harsh feedback is most valuable” in improving Intel’s products and strategies.

Mr Tan took over as CEO earlier this month and stated that he spent his first weeks on the job meeting with customers.

Reuters has reported that Mr Tan plans to eliminate what he sees as a slow-moving and inefficient middle management layer. On Monday, Mr Tan emphasised his commitment to empowering Intel’s engineers, stating that in recent years, new ideas have not had “room to develop and grow” in the company.

He said, “We’re going to really drive some new ideas, giving engineers freedom to innovate from within,” adding that it excites him to work closely with them as they have some brilliant ideas and want to change the world. He added that the company’s focus will be recruiting and keeping engineers on board. He said it is his “top priority” to recruit some of the best talent in the industry to come back and rejoin or join Intel.

However, one online commenter pointed out that in the corporate world, “rarely has anyone been willing to be brutally honest,” while another warned that without significant change, Intel could soon become obsolete. /TISG