Intel Corporation announced significant leadership changes and strategic partnership expansions on March 4, 2026, signaling a continued focus on artificial intelligence and next-generation connectivity. Frank D. Yeary, who has served as Intel's board chair since 2023 and as a director since 2009, will retire from the board following the company's Annual Stockholders' Meeting on May 13, 2026. Dr. Craig H. Barratt, an independent director on Intel's board since late 2025, has been elected as the new independent chair, with his appointment also effective after the May 13, 2026, annual meeting. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan acknowledged Mr. Yeary's strong leadership during a pivotal period for the company, including his role in Mr. Tan's appointment as CEO. Dr. Barratt brings over three decades of leadership experience across the semiconductor and technology industries, having held executive roles at Atheros Communications, Qualcomm, Google, and previously serving as Senior Vice President for ethernet, photonics, and networking businesses at Intel. Mr. Tan emphasized Dr. Barratt's deep semiconductor expertise and operational leadership as instrumental for Intel's next phase of disciplined execution and foundry progress.
In parallel with the board leadership transition, Intel expanded its strategic collaboration with Infosys, a global leader in digital services. The enhanced partnership aims to accelerate enterprise adoption of artificial intelligence by facilitating the transition of AI initiatives from pilot projects to full-scale production deployments. This collaboration integrates Intel's high-performance, energy-efficient compute platforms, including Intel Xeon processors, Intel Gaudi AI accelerators, and Intel AI PCs, with Infosys Topaz Fabric, a purpose-built agentic AI services suite. The joint effort focuses on co-innovating and optimizing AI workloads to deliver "right-sized" AI architectures that balance performance, security, and total cost of ownership. Infosys CEO Salil Parekh stated that the collaboration reflects Infosys' commitment to embedding AI deeply and responsibly across enterprise operations, aiming to unlock AI value at scale. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan added that the partnership would bring the power of Intel's AI hardware ecosystem to enterprises globally.
Further solidifying its commitment to advanced technologies, Intel also announced an expanded collaboration with Ericsson, a leading provider of communications technology and services. This partnership, an extension of a decades-long relationship, is designed to accelerate the industry's readiness for AI-native 6G networks. The announcement was made at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2026. The collaboration will encompass mobile connectivity, cloud technologies, and compute capabilities across AI-driven Radio Access Network (RAN) and packet core use cases. Additionally, it will address platform-level security and network capabilities to enhance ecosystem enablement and reduce time-to-market for cloud-native solutions. Börje Ekholm, President and CEO of Ericsson, highlighted that 6G is envisioned as the infrastructure that will distribute AI across devices, the Edge, and the cloud. Mr. Tan reiterated Intel's ambition to be the technology leader in unifying RAN, Core, and edge AI to enable a seamless transition to AI-native 6G environments.