Intel names Seok-Hee Lee as packaging EVP, shares rise 10%

Intel Corporation has appointed semiconductor industry veteran SeokHee Lee as executive vice president of Intel Foundry, a strategic hire aimed at strengthening its advanced packaging and backend manufacturing operations. The announcement on June 18 sent the company's stock soaring, closing at $133.99, a gain of $10.64.

Lee, who will report directly to CEO LipBu Tan, will oversee all advanced packaging, system integration, and backend technology development and manufacturing. His appointment coincides with a structural reorganization that establishes advanced packaging as a dedicated business unit within Intel Foundry. Concurrently, longtime executive Navid Shahriari is retiring after 37 years with the company.

The move separates leadership for frontend and backend manufacturing. Naga Chandrasekaran, another executive vice president of Intel Foundry, will now focus exclusively on frontend technology development and manufacturing, including the ramp of the Intel 18A and 14A process nodes and future technologies.

Lee brings decades of high-level experience to the role, having previously served as chief executive of memory maker SK hynix and battery maker SK On. He also spent a...