(Dec 16): Intel Corp named Robin Colwell as a senior vice-president of government affairs, enlisting a Trump administration official to oversee the chipmaker’s relationship with policymakers and regulators.
Colwell had served as a deputy assistant to US President Donald Trump and a deputy director of the National Economic Council. She will remain in Washington as part of the new job, Intel said in a statement on Monday.
The move follows an unconventional deal with Trump that turned the US government into Intel’s biggest investor. Under that agreement, which was hammered out in August, Intel sold a stake worth nearly 10% in exchange for billions of dollars.
“Robin’s broad experience and deep understanding of complex legal and policy environments will be invaluable to Intel,” chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan said in Monday’s statement. “She has a rare ability to navigate dynamic policy environments and deliver outcomes that benefit businesses, policymakers and the communities they serve.”
White House spokespeople didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Intel also announced that Annie Shea Weckesser would become its chief marketing and communications officer. She’s joining the company from SambaNova Systems Inc, an artificial intelligence chip start-up that Intel has been in talks to acquire. Those discussions have raised questions about Tan’s connections to the start-up, where he serves as the chairman and a key investor. Bloomberg News reported last week that Intel was in advanced talks to acquire the business for about US$1.6 billion ($2.1 billion).
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As part of Monday’s changes, Pushkar Ranade will add the job of the interim chief technology officer. He already has the role of the CEO's chief of staff. Intel’s previous chief technology officer, Sachin Katti, left the company to take a role at OpenAI last month.
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