July 20, 2024 – In a significant move within the tech industry, Lisa Spelman, a seasoned executive who has dedicated over two decades of her career to Intel, will step down from her role on August 15th to embark on a new journey as the Chief Executive Officer of Cornelis Networks, a high-performance computing connectivity specialist.
Spelman’s tenure at Intel has been marked by pivotal contributions, notably her nine-year stewardship of the Xeon processor portfolio, where she held the reins as General Manager for the past five years and concurrently served as an Enterprise Vice President. Her leadership was instrumental in shaping the direction of Intel’s powerful processor line.
However, her watch also saw challenges, particularly with the Sapphire Rapids generation of Xeon processors. Originally slated for a 2021 release, the fourth-generation chips encountered delays, ultimately launching in January 2023, a setback that placed Intel in a competitive disadvantage against AMD’s EPYC offerings. This setback rippled through Intel’s Xeon roadmap, accelerating the development cycles of subsequent generations like Emerald Rapids and the upcoming Sierra Forest/Granite Rapids, introducing a degree of unpredictability in their product lifecycles.
While speculation lingers on whether her departure is tied to these challenges, it’s intriguing to note that Cornelis Networks has a unique history with Intel. Originating as Intel’s Omni-Path interconnect technology business, Cornelis Networks spun off in 2020, maintaining a close connection to its former parent company.
With this transition, Spelman brings her vast experience and expertise to Cornelis Networks, poised to drive the company’s mission of enhancing data center computing capabilities to support AI model development and high-performance computing applications. The appointment underscores the industry’s dynamic nature and the constant reshuffling of talent as technology giants strive to maintain their competitive edge.
As the tech landscape continues to evolve, the industry eagerly awaits the impact of Spelman’s leadership at Cornelis Networks and how it will reshape the landscape of high-performance computing and connectivity solutions.
