Rumor: GF’s Caulfield to become CEO of Intel

A shuffle in Globalfoundries’ management team has prompted speculation that the firm’s CEO, Thomas Caulfield, is going to take the helm at Intel or Intel’s foundry division, which may or may not be spun out. Caulfield stepped down as CEO on Wednesday to become the foundry’s executive chairman. He’s succeeded by Tim Breen, who is currently chief operating officer.

Caulfield seems to have the right pedigree to take charge at Intel Foundry: before leading GF to an IPO, he held several positions in semiconductor manufacturing at IBM and GF. Experience in IC design is not apparent from his resume. His degrees are in materials science and engineering.

The top seat at Intel became vacant in December after the board apparently lost faith in Pat Gelsinger’s ability to turn the tide. The firm is facing a make-or-break moment in manufacturing, with the outcome hinging on the commercial success of its upcoming 18A and 14A nodes.