Intel’s Karin Eibschitz Segal steps aside as interim data center chief
The Israeli executive returns to engineering leadership as company names Kevork Kechichian as the permanent head of the Data Center Group.
Intel appointed industry veteran Kevork Kechichian to lead its Data Center Group (DCG) earlier this week, ending the interim leadership of Israeli executive Karin Eibschitz Segal. While she will no longer head the division, Segal remains one of Intel’s most senior figures globally and continues in her roles as corporate vice president, general manager of Validation Engineering, and co-general manager of Intel Israel.
Segal’s tenure as interim DCG head began in February, following the departure of Justin Hotard to become Nokia’s CEO. Her appointment at the time was viewed as a vote of confidence in both her two-decade track record at Intel and in Israel’s strategic importance to the company.
In April, she oversaw the restructuring of the business, with the division split into two: CPUs under the revived Data Center Group name, and accelerators such as GPUs folded into Intel’s newly created AI and CTO organization. In internal communications, Segal described the restructuring as an effort to “refocus on the fundamentals: creating exceptional products and delighting our customers,” with a clear emphasis on re-energizing the Xeon CPU business.
The decision to hand leadership of the DCG to Kechichian, a veteran of Arm, Qualcomm, and NXP Semiconductors, closes her interim chapter. But Segal remains a pivotal figure in Intel’s engineering leadership. Over a 23-year career that began when she joined Intel as a computer science student from the Technion, she has risen steadily through roles in product development, technology validation, and performance optimization.
Kechichian's appointment came amid the departure of products chief Michelle Johnston Holthaus and at a time when CEO Lip-Bu Tan intensifies efforts to turn around the struggling U.S. chipmaker.
Holthaus, who will leave after more than three decades with Intel, had held numerous senior leadership roles, including interim co-chief executive officer following the ouster of former CEO Pat Gelsinger last year. She will remain a strategic adviser over the coming months.
Among other changes, Intel announced setting up of a new central engineering group, which will be led by Srinivasan Iyengar, a senior vice president. In the expanded role, Iyengar will build a new custom silicon business to serve a broad range of external customers.
Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice president and chief technology and operations officer of Intel Foundry, will expand his role to include Foundry Services, while Jim Johnson has been appointed as general manager of Intel's client computing group.
The announcements come at an uncertain time for Intel, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying last month that the government would take a 10% stake in the company.
Reuters contributed to this report.
