Intel's Foundry Lead Jumps to Qualcomm
In a significant talent move, Intel's foundry services lead Kevin O’Buckley has exited to join competitor Qualcomm. The departure marks a blow to Intel's efforts to build out its foundry business and challenge rivals like TSMC, while strengthening Qualcomm's leadership in the semiconductor space.
Kevin O'Buckley's new role at Qualcomm is Executive Vice President of Global Operations and Supply Chain, reporting directly to the CFO and COO, Akash Palkhiwala. He will be responsible for Qualcomm's entire semiconductor manufacturing process, including foundry partnerships, supply chain, and procurement, starting March 2, 2026. O'Buckley's move places a leader with three decades of experience at IBM, GlobalFoundries, and Marvell at the head of Qualcomm's physical production strategy. For a fabless company reliant on partners like TSMC and Samsung, his role is critical in turning chip designs for mobile, auto, and AI into high-volume products. The departure marks another high-profile exit from Intel over the last year, following the Chief Strategy Officer and the head of AI. O'Buckley had been at Intel for less than two years, a period during which the foundry business reported a $7 billion operating loss in 2023 followed by further multi-billion-dollar losses. Intel Foundry remains a core part of its turnaround strategy, with a reported backlog of over $15 billion and a key customer in Microsoft for a custom chip. The division is in a critical phase, attempting to deliver five process nodes in four years and secure a major external customer for its 18A process to validate its commercial viability. For Qualcomm, this hire strengthens its operational leadership as it diversifies beyond mobile into automotive and AI PCs. The company's automotive design-win pipeline hit $45 billion in 2024, magnifying the need for expertise in scaling complex, global manufacturing operations. At Intel, Naga Chandrasekaran will now lead the entire foundry organization. Chandrasekaran, who already managed technology development and the foundry supply chain, consolidates leadership as the company focuses on executing its ambitious process roadmap.
