Intel has appointed Seok-Hee Lee as Executive Vice President of Intel Foundry, placing him in charge of advanced packaging, system integration, back-end technology development, and back-end manufacturing. Lee will report directly to Lip-Bu Tan and will lead a newly focused advanced packaging organization within Intel Foundry. The move underscores Intel’s view that advanced packaging has become a strategic differentiator for AI infrastructure, enabling tighter integration of compute, memory, networking, and accelerator components.
Lee brings extensive memory industry experience to Intel. Prior to serving as CEO of SK On, he led SK hynix as President and CEO during a period when high-bandwidth memory (HBM) emerged as a critical technology for AI accelerators. His background is particularly relevant as AI systems increasingly depend on advanced packaging techniques to integrate HBM stacks alongside GPUs, CPUs, custom AI ASICs, networking silicon, and photonic interconnects. Intel is preparing to ramp advanced packaging technologies including EMIB-T and HBI, which the company positions as key building blocks for next-generation heterogeneous computing platforms.
The appointment comes as Intel continues to reorganize its foundry operations under Lip-Bu Tan. While Lee assumes responsibility for back-end manufacturing and packaging, Naga Chandrasekaran will continue leading front-end technology development and manufacturing, including the ramp of Intel 18A and Intel 14A process technologies. Intel said the new structure is intended to improve execution, scalability, and customer confidence as the company expands its foundry business and pursues AI-focused semiconductor opportunities.
• Seok-Hee Lee appointed Executive Vice President of Intel Foundry, reporting directly to CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
• Lee will oversee advanced packaging, system integration, back-end technology development, and back-end manufacturing.
• Intel is establishing advanced packaging as a dedicated business unit within Intel Foundry.
• Lee previously served as CEO of SK hynix and later CEO of SK On.
• Intel highlighted EMIB-T and HBI as key packaging technologies targeted for high-volume customer deployments.
• Naga Chandrasekaran remains responsible for front-end manufacturing, Intel 18A, Intel 14A, and customer enablement functions.
“Intel is uniquely positioned to lead in advanced packaging as demand for system-level integration accelerates across AI and high-performance computing,” said Lee. “I’m excited to return home and to join the Intel team as we help advance the company’s technology leadership, manufacturing capabilities, and customer commitments in this critical area.”
🌐 Analysis: Intel’s decision to recruit the former CEO of SK hynix highlights the growing strategic importance of memory and packaging in AI infrastructure. HBM has become one of the most critical components in modern AI systems, with demand driven by accelerators from companies such as NVIDIA, AMD, and major hyperscale cloud providers. As AI architectures evolve, performance increasingly depends not only on transistor scaling but also on how processors, memory, and networking components are integrated at the package level.
🌐 Analysis: Intel is positioning advanced packaging as a standalone competitive capability alongside leading-edge process technology. The company’s EMIB, Foveros, EMIB-T, and HBI technologies are central to its foundry strategy and are intended to attract customers seeking heterogeneous integration of logic, HBM, chiplets, networking silicon, and optical I/O. The move also reflects a broader industry trend in which packaging has become a primary battleground among Intel, TSMC, and Samsung Electronics for AI and high-performance computing workloads.
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