March 12 (Reuters) - Intel ( INTC ) tapped former board member Lip-Bu Tan as its CEO on

Wednesday, as the struggling American chipmaking icon attempts to emerge from one of its

bleakest periods.

Tan, a respected semiconductor industry veteran who will take the mantle on March 18, had

been seen as a CEO contender since Intel ( INTC ) ousted company veteran Pat Gelsinger last year.

Here are some details about him:

* A 65-year-old Malaysian-born executive, Tan studied physics at Nanyang Technological

University

in Singapore.

* He holds a master's degree in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology, and an MBA from the University of San Francisco.

* A longtime technology investor, he has played different roles at several companies. He is

chairperson of Walden International, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, since 1984.

* Tan helmed Intel ( INTC ) supplier and chip-design maker Cadence Design Systems ( CDNS ) between

2009 and

2021.

* He was on the boards of Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) and SoftBank Group.

* Tan was appointed to Intel's ( INTC ) board in 2022 as part of a plan to restore the company's

place as

the leading global chipmaker. A year later, Intel ( INTC ) expanded his responsibilities to include

oversight of manufacturing operations. However, Tan stepped down from the board last year over

disagreements on how to turn around the company.

* On Wednesday, in a letter to Intel ( INTC ) employees, Tan signaled he would not split up the

company's

design and manufacturing businesses. "Intel ( INTC ) plays an essential role in the technology ecosystem,

both in the U.S. and around the world. And, together, I'm confident we can turn our business

around," he said.

Source: LinkedIn, Intel ( INTC ) website