[News] Intel Recruits 30-Year Samsung Foundry Veteran with Sales Expertise to Drive Customer Growth

Intel has recruited a semiconductor veteran from Samsung. According to Wccftech, citing a LinkedIn post by Intel Executive Vice President Naga Chandrasekaran, Shawn Han has joined Intel as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Foundry Services. He is set to begin the role in May and will report directly to Chandrasekaran.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan also commented on the post, writing, “Congrats and welcome to Intel Foundry, Shawn, as we expand our customer engagements,” expressing a warm welcome to the seasoned Samsung executive.

As the report indicates, Shawn Han previously worked at Samsung Foundry. Chandrasekaran said he brings deep semiconductor expertise from three decades at Samsung, most recently leading sales at Samsung Foundry, along with strong technical experience gained from working on multiple logic nodes since 1996.

Key Hire Highlights Urgency to Secure External Foundry Clients

Bloomberg notes that the hire reflects Intel’s need to expand its customer base, with Shawn Han expected to support efforts to win new clients. In this context, Korean outlet Asia Economic Daily adds that this is not Intel’s first move to bring in external talent for its foundry business. However, unlike earlier hires that focused on process and operations expertise, this recruitment stands out for targeting a senior executive with direct sales leadership experience at Samsung.

Intel Foundry still needs to secure external customers. According to Newspim, the company has long relied on its own manufacturing facilities to support its internal chip design business. However, it is now difficult to cover the significant costs of maintaining and expanding those facilities through its design operations alone.

To attract a broad range of semiconductor design firms, including those that compete with Intel, as contract manufacturing customers, the company must demonstrate clear technological leadership, as noted by Newspim. However, that competitive edge has eroded in recent years.

In light of these challenges, MToday suggests that bringing in key personnel from Samsung Electronics is a strategic step to strengthen customer networks and deepen market insight. In the foundry business, where customer trust and long-term partnerships are as critical as technological capability, securing talent with global client experience is viewed as an important factor in enhancing competitiveness.

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(Photo credit: Shawn (Seung Hoon) Han on LinkedIn)