Intel is going through a senior executive shakeup, with former CTO, Pat Gelsinger, returning to the company to take up the position of CEO.

　　A skilled engineer at heart, Gelsinger spent many years at Intel before rising through the ranks to the position of CTO. He left the company in 2009 and since gone on to serve as CEO for VMWare. His return to Intel comes at a crucial time for the company, as it continues to struggle with the pressure that AMD is mounting on it.

　　"My experience at Intel has shaped my entire career, and I am forever grateful to this company," Gelsinger says in a statement. "To come back 'home' to Intel in the role of CEO during what is such a critical time for innovation, as we see the digitization of everything accelerating, will be the greatest honor of my career."

　　Gelsinger replaces Bob Swan, who has led Intel since June 2018. Swan was originally meant to act as an interim CEO, transitioning from his previous position as CFO, before being named the permanent replacement months afterwards. The return of an engineering-focused CEO to the company has already been welcomed by investors, with Intel's stock price increasing by more than 12% since the announcement.

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　　Intel recently revealed its line-up of 11th generation processors for desktop CPUs, with the flagship Core i9 featuring two fewer physical cores than last generation. Despite boasting a high 5.3GHz single-core boost speed, Intel's processors have been stuck on a 14nm process for years now, something which Gelsinger might be quick to change.