Seok-hee Lee, former CEO of SK Hynix, has been appointed as Senior Vice President at Intel. (Illustrative AI-generated image).
- Intel hires Seok-hee Lee, former CEO of SK Hynix, as Senior Vice President to lead advanced packaging and back-end manufacturing.
- Lee will report directly to Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, signaling the strategic importance of his role.
- Advanced packaging is identified as a core capability for Intel’s foundry strategy, crucial for next-generation computing systems, especially in AI and high-performance computing.
- Intel is focusing on its proprietary EMIB-T and HBI packaging technologies to compete with industry leaders like TSMC and Samsung.
- The company is restructuring its manufacturing operations, separating front-end and back-end processes under distinct leadership reporting to the CEO.
- Lee’s background in leading large-scale manufacturing at SK Hynix and SK On is expected to bring operational strength and credibility to Intel’s foundry ambitions.
Intel Hires Former SK Hynix CEO Seok-hee Lee as Senior VP
Intel has made a significant leadership appointment to bolster its foundry business. On April 19, 2025, the company announced the hiring of Seok-hee Lee as its new senior vice president. Lee will report directly to Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. His responsibilities will encompass leading all of Intel’s advanced packaging, system integration, and back-end technology development and manufacturing operations.
This strategic move is part of a larger initiative within Intel to enhance the competitiveness of its foundry services. The company has been focused on establishing a dedicated management structure for advanced packaging, recognizing it as a crucial core business for future growth.
Advanced packaging is a critical technology that enables chipmakers to stack and connect various types of chips within a single package. This capability is increasingly vital for artificial intelligence (AI) systems and high-performance computing, as it helps improve performance, reduce power consumption, and integrate different semiconductor components into a single device.
Lee is a highly respected veteran in the semiconductor industry. He previously served as the CEO and president of SK Hynix, a global leader in memory chip manufacturing. He also led SK On, the battery division of SK Group. Notably, Lee began his career at Intel as a researcher before spending over a decade at SK Hynix, where he developed deep expertise in advanced process technology and large-scale manufacturing.
His return to Intel signifies a strategic effort to leverage his extensive experience in a pivotal role within the company’s technology roadmap.
Advanced Packaging: The Core of Intel’s Foundry Strategy
Intel is placing advanced packaging at the forefront of its foundry strategy, aiming to become a leading chip manufacturer for external clients beyond its own product lines. The foundry business model involves producing chips for other companies, such as Qualcomm, Apple, Nvidia, and AMD.
To attract and retain these customers, Intel must offer more than just cutting-edge logic chips. It also needs to provide sophisticated packaging solutions. Advanced packaging allows Intel to integrate its logic chips with memory from other suppliers or with networking chips, all within a single package. This approach is known as system-level integration.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan emphasized the growing importance of these capabilities, stating, “Advanced packaging and system integration are becoming core capabilities for building next-generation computing systems.” He highlighted Lee’s extensive experience in managing large technology and manufacturing organizations, noting that his operational strengths will be invaluable to Intel.
Tan specifically mentioned two key technologies: EMIB-T (Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge) and HBI (Hybrid Bonding Interface). EMIB-T facilitates the connection of different chips within a package using a small silicon bridge, while HBI enables direct stacking of chips without additional layers. Intel is focused on scaling these advanced packaging techniques for mass production.
Tan expressed confidence in Lee’s ability to lead this expansion, stating, “He is the right person to drive the volume ramp of EMIB-T and HBI.”
The timing of this strategic focus is critical, as the market for advanced packaging is experiencing rapid growth. AI chips, high-performance computing processors, and data center components all demand increasingly sophisticated packaging. As traditional chip scaling becomes more challenging, chipmakers are shifting their focus to innovative packaging solutions that combine multiple chips efficiently.
Intel faces strong competition in this area. TSMC, the world’s largest foundry, offers its CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) advanced packaging technology. Samsung also provides similar solutions like I-Cube and X-Cube. Both companies are making substantial investments in advanced packaging. Intel, however, believes its EMIB-T and HBI technologies offer a competitive edge, and with Lee’s leadership, aims to accelerate their adoption.
Seok-hee Lee’s Background: A Semiconductor Veteran’s Journey
Seok-hee Lee brings a wealth of experience in both technology and business leadership to his new role.
His career began at Intel as a researcher, providing him with an intimate understanding of the company’s culture and technological foundations. He later joined SK Hynix, where he spent over a decade, progressing to lead the company’s DRAM and NAND flash memory businesses. During his tenure, he was instrumental in developing some of the industry’s most advanced memory manufacturing processes.
In 2021, Lee was appointed CEO and president of SK Hynix. He guided the company through a period of high demand for memory chips, particularly for data centers and AI applications. He also played a key role in SK Hynix’s expansion into high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a critical component for modern AI processors.
Following his leadership at SK Hynix, Lee transitioned to SK On, the electric vehicle battery company within SK Group, serving as its CEO. This role provided him with valuable experience in another complex, high-volume manufacturing sector.
His return to Intel marks a significant chapter in his career, bringing his comprehensive expertise back to the semiconductor industry in a leadership capacity.
Lee’s background is exceptionally well-suited to Intel’s current objectives. The company is focused on revitalizing its foundry business and rebuilding customer confidence. His proven ability to manage large-scale manufacturing operations at both SK Hynix and SK On lends significant credibility to Intel’s ambitions. Lee possesses a deep understanding of the challenges involved in scaling complex technologies and ensuring reliable delivery to customers.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s Vision and Confidence in Lee
CEO Lip-Bu Tan has clearly articulated the rationale behind hiring Lee, emphasizing his suitability for Intel’s strategic direction.
In the official announcement, Tan stated, “Seok-hee Lee is a person with the experience of successfully leading large-scale technology and manufacturing organizations, and has strong operational capabilities.”
Tan also highlighted the rapidly evolving market landscape, noting, “In the AI and high-performance computing market, system-level integration demand is growing rapidly.” This trend signifies a customer demand for integrated solutions that combine logic, memory, networking, and other functions within a single package, a capability that advanced packaging enables.
Tan, known for his hands-on leadership and focus on execution, took the helm as Intel CEO in early 2024. He has been instrumental in restructuring the company and refocusing its efforts on what he terms “system foundry” capabilities, aiming to provide not only leading logic chips but also superior packaging, software, and supply chain solutions.
Lee’s appointment is a cornerstone of this comprehensive strategy. Tan specifically praised Lee’s expertise in managing the complexities of advanced packaging, stating, “His expertise will further strengthen Intel’s system integration capabilities.” This, he added, will empower Intel to develop high-performance computing systems that integrate advanced logic, memory, and networking technologies.
Organizational Restructuring: Separating Front-End and Back-End Operations
Lee’s appointment is accompanied by a significant organizational realignment within Intel’s manufacturing operations.
The company has established a clear separation between its front-end and back-end manufacturing processes. Naga Chandrasekaran, who leads Intel’s foundry front-end operations, will continue in his role, reporting directly to CEO Lip-Bu Tan. His focus remains on the development and manufacturing of Intel’s leading-edge process technologies, such as Intel 18A and Intel 14A.
This division creates two distinct senior leadership roles reporting directly to the CEO on the manufacturing side: one overseeing the front-end (wafer fabrication) and the other managing the back-end (packaging and system integration). This structure underscores Intel’s strategic emphasis on advanced packaging as a critical and independent business area, moving beyond its traditional perception as a secondary step.
By having both front-end and back-end leaders report directly to the CEO, Intel aims to foster closer coordination between these crucial stages of chip production. This approach also seeks to provide customers with a unified point of accountability for the entire manufacturing process.
This organizational model mirrors that of TSMC, which also integrates its advanced packaging division under top management alongside its front-end manufacturing. This integration allows TSMC to offer its “3D Fabric” solutions, enabling customers to design chips optimized for TSMC’s packaging technologies from the outset.
Intel’s objective is to achieve similar synergy, making it easier for customers to engage Intel for both logic chip manufacturing and advanced packaging solutions through a dedicated leadership structure.
Market Reaction and Future Prospects for Intel’s Foundry Business
The semiconductor market has responded positively to Intel’s strategic moves, particularly the appointment of Seok-hee Lee.
Analysts have highlighted Lee’s unique perspective, gained from his experience in both memory and battery manufacturing. His understanding of high-volume production and manufacturing yield is considered crucial for the profitability and success of the foundry business.
Intel has been actively working to improve its manufacturing yields, showing progress with its Intel 4 and Intel 3 processes. However, challenges remain with more advanced nodes like Intel 18A and 14A. Lee’s leadership is expected to bolster operations and drive improvements in these critical areas.
The broader industry trend indicates a growing significance of advanced packaging within the semiconductor value chain. Market projections suggest that the advanced packaging sector is outpacing the overall chip market growth, with estimates predicting it could exceed $50 billion in the coming years.
AI chips are a primary catalyst for this growth. Leading AI processors from companies like Nvidia and AMD utilize complex packaging techniques that integrate multiple chips. Apple also employs advanced packaging in its system-on-chip designs. Intel aims to capture a significant share of this burgeoning market by offering its advanced packaging solutions.
While Intel faces the challenge of entering the foundry market later than established players like TSMC, it possesses key advantages. These include its proprietary advanced packaging technologies, an existing customer base, and substantial financial resources for investment in manufacturing infrastructure.
Lee’s mandate is to leverage these strengths to secure customer wins. He will be tasked with convincing potential clients that Intel’s packaging technology is competitive and that the company can deliver at scale with high yields and reliable supply chains.
The path forward is demanding, but Intel’s strategic bet on advanced packaging as a cornerstone of its foundry future, backed by a veteran leader, signals a strong commitment. The industry will be closely watching Lee’s performance as he aims to help Intel regain ground in the competitive chip manufacturing landscape.
The coming years will be critical for validating Intel’s strategy. The company must demonstrate that its EMIB-T and HBI technologies can effectively compete with offerings from TSMC and Samsung. Furthermore, Intel needs to prove its ability to rapidly scale production and rebuild customer trust, especially after past delays.
Seok-hee Lee possesses the experience and authority to lead this crucial initiative. The success of Intel’s foundry ambitions now rests on his and his team’s execution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Seok-hee Lee and what is his new role at Intel?
Seok-hee Lee is the former CEO of SK Hynix, a major memory chip manufacturer. At Intel, he has been appointed as Senior Vice President, responsible for leading the company's advanced packaging, system integration, and back-end technology development and manufacturing.
Why is Intel focusing on advanced packaging?
Advanced packaging is crucial for building next-generation computing systems, particularly for AI and high-performance computing. It allows for stacking and connecting different chips within a single package, improving performance, saving power, and enabling system-level integration.
What are Intel's key advanced packaging technologies?
Intel is focusing on its proprietary technologies, EMIB-T (Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge) and HBI (Hybrid Bonding Interface). EMIB-T connects different chips using a silicon bridge, while HBI allows for direct stacking of chips.
How does Intel's organizational structure change with this appointment?
Intel is separating its front-end (wafer fabrication) and back-end (packaging) operations, with leaders for each reporting directly to CEO Lip-Bu Tan. This highlights the strategic importance of advanced packaging as a distinct business area.
What experience does Seok-hee Lee bring to Intel?
Lee has extensive experience in semiconductor manufacturing, having served as CEO of SK Hynix and leading its memory business. He also led SK On, a battery company, giving him expertise in high-volume, complex manufacturing operations.
Who are Intel's main competitors in advanced packaging?
Intel's primary competitors in the foundry and advanced packaging space include TSMC, which offers its CoWoS technology, and Samsung, with its I-Cube and X-Cube solutions.
What is the market outlook for advanced packaging?
The market for advanced packaging is experiencing rapid growth, driven by demand for AI and high-performance computing chips. Industry analysts predict this market could exceed $50 billion in the coming years.
