Is there a glass ceiling for people with advanced engineering degrees at Intel?

[hist78]

I analyzed the educational backgrounds of the 16 executives listed on Intel's executive leadership page. Here are my findings:

1. 1. Four executives have PhDs in engineering-related fields. Among them, only one (Ann Kelleher) is a long-time Intel employee. Two joined Intel in 2021, and one joined in 2024.
2. 
   
3. 2. Four executives have master's degrees in engineering-related fields. Of these, only one (Keyvan Esfarjani) is a long-time Intel employee. One person joined Intel in 2020, another in 2021, and one more in 2024. Keyvan Esfarjani is retiring after nearly 30 years of service at Intel. Although Pat Gelsinger holds a master's degree in engineering, he rejoined Intel after being away for 12 years, so I counted him as a new addition.
4. 
   
5. 3. Four executives hold master's degrees in non-engineering fields, including a Juris Doctor degree held by Chief Legal Officer April Miller Boise.
6. 
   
7. 4. Four executives have a bachelor's degree as their highest level of education, in various fields.

It appears rare for a long-time Intel employee with a master's or PhD in an engineering-related field to reach the senior executive level. Currently, only two of the sixteen executives listed on the Intel website fit this description. With Keyvan Esfarjani retiring soon, that number will drop to just one.

Why is it so difficult for long-time Intel employees with advanced engineering degrees to become senior executives at Intel?


Source: https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...l?filters=[-7300596454,-2738893251]#gs.ewebo2

 

[jim_22222]

I analyzed the educational backgrounds of the 16 executives listed on Intel's executive leadership page. Here are my findings:

1. 1. Four executives have PhDs in engineering-related fields. Among them, only one (Ann Kelleher) is a long-time Intel employee. Two joined Intel in 2021, and one joined in 2024.
2. 
   
3. 2. Four executives have master's degrees in engineering-related fields. Of these, only one (Keyvan Esfarjani) is a long-time Intel employee. One person joined Intel in 2020, another in 2021, and one more in 2024. Keyvan Esfarjani is retiring after nearly 30 years of service at Intel. Although Pat Gelsinger holds a master's degree in engineering, he rejoined Intel after being away for 12 years, so I counted him as a new addition.
4. 
   
5. 3. Four executives hold master's degrees in non-engineering fields, including a Juris Doctor degree held by Chief Legal Officer April Miller Boise.
6. 
   
7. 4. Four executives have a bachelor's degree as their highest level of education, in various fields.

It appears rare for a long-time Intel employee with a master's or PhD in an engineering-related field to reach the senior executive level. Currently, only two of the sixteen executives listed on the Intel website fit this description. With Keyvan Esfarjani retiring soon, that number will drop to just one.

Why is it so difficult for long-time Intel employees with advanced engineering degrees to become senior executives at Intel?


Source: https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...l?filters=[-7300596454,-2738893251]#gs.ewebo2

someone in another post said it, " need to be tough to survive/excel at INTC" @ benb
all those folks are tough person.

 

[Xebec]

Some of it is probably generic regime changes in corporate america.

Unfortunately senior executives are often not promoted due to pure meritocracy, but being ‘good enough’ and liked by board members and others even higher up the chain. As those board and C-Suite people move out, the potential up and comers may have to start over in their relationship building.. while the new higherups already have trusted people in mind to put in those senior exec positions.

 

[osnium]

I analyzed the educational backgrounds of the 16 executives listed on Intel's executive leadership page. Here are my findings:

1. 1. Four executives have PhDs in engineering-related fields. Among them, only one (Ann Kelleher) is a long-time Intel employee. Two joined Intel in 2021, and one joined in 2024.
2. 
   
3. 2. Four executives have master's degrees in engineering-related fields. Of these, only one (Keyvan Esfarjani) is a long-time Intel employee. One person joined Intel in 2020, another in 2021, and one more in 2024. Keyvan Esfarjani is retiring after nearly 30 years of service at Intel. Although Pat Gelsinger holds a master's degree in engineering, he rejoined Intel after being away for 12 years, so I counted him as a new addition.
4. 
   
5. 3. Four executives hold master's degrees in non-engineering fields, including a Juris Doctor degree held by Chief Legal Officer April Miller Boise.
6. 
   
7. 4. Four executives have a bachelor's degree as their highest level of education, in various fields.

It appears rare for a long-time Intel employee with a master's or PhD in an engineering-related field to reach the senior executive level. Currently, only two of the sixteen executives listed on the Intel website fit this description. With Keyvan Esfarjani retiring soon, that number will drop to just one.

Why is it so difficult for long-time Intel employees with advanced engineering degrees to become senior executives at Intel?


Source: https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...l?filters=[-7300596454,-2738893251]#gs.ewebo2

In Intel logic technology development, a quick LinkedIn search suggests that a lot of their executives have advanced science or engineering degrees.

 

[hist78]

In Intel logic technology development, a quick LinkedIn search suggests that a lot of their executives have advanced science or engineering degrees.

But very few can reach the top executive leadership team. Only two among the current sixteen top Intel executives have engineering master or PhD degrees and have worked for Intel longer than 5 years. Soon it will drop to only one because Keyvan Esfarjani is retiring.

We can't forget Intel is a high-tech product company and it has many employees who have advanced engineering degrees.

 

[osnium]

But very few can reach the top executive leadership team. Only two among the current sixteen top Intel executives have engineering master of PhD degrees and have worked for Intel longer than 5 years. Soon it will drop to only one because Keyvan Esfarjani is retiring.

We can't forget Intel is a high-tech product company and it has many employees who have advanced engineering degrees.

I wonder if it’s because of poor execution on the part of Intel in recent years. Would you want to promote people who were responsible for Intel’s process delays? If the fabs survive the next 2-3 years and if they execute, you can imagine some level of internal promotions.

 

[hist78]

I wonder if it’s because of poor execution on the part of Intel in recent years. Would you want to promote people who were responsible for Intel’s process delays? If the fabs survive the next 2-3 years and if they execute, you can imagine some level of internal promotions.

It may be part of the reasons. Or it has been this way for many years already? I hope someone has the historical data to analyze the Intel leadership team.

 

[jim_22222]

It may be part of the reasons. Or it has been this way for many years already? I hope someone has the historical data to analyze the Intel leadership team.

What I can tell you is to stay away from INTC investment. Your knowledge and understanding of the business are far too limited.

 

[tooLongInEDA]

What I can tell you is to stay away from INTC investment. Your knowledge and understanding of the business are far too limited.

Noise.

No one's discussing Intel investment.

 

[osnium]

It may be part of the reasons. Or it has been this way for many years already? I hope someone has the historical data to analyze the Intel leadership team.

I thought his historically Intel promoted internally. Pat Gelsinger went up from technician to executive at Intel before leaving. TMG was helmed by people who were Intel lifers. My sense is that it’s due to execution issues and Murthy coming in and bringing in outsiders with established track records (Jim Keller, Raja Koduri, etc) that led to your observation of very few insiders who went up the ranks.

 

[blueone]

I analyzed the educational backgrounds of the 16 executives listed on Intel's executive leadership page. Here are my findings:

1. 1. Four executives have PhDs in engineering-related fields. Among them, only one (Ann Kelleher) is a long-time Intel employee. Two joined Intel in 2021, and one joined in 2024.
2. 
   
3. 2. Four executives have master's degrees in engineering-related fields. Of these, only one (Keyvan Esfarjani) is a long-time Intel employee. One person joined Intel in 2020, another in 2021, and one more in 2024. Keyvan Esfarjani is retiring after nearly 30 years of service at Intel. Although Pat Gelsinger holds a master's degree in engineering, he rejoined Intel after being away for 12 years, so I counted him as a new addition.
4. 
   
5. 3. Four executives hold master's degrees in non-engineering fields, including a Juris Doctor degree held by Chief Legal Officer April Miller Boise.
6. 
   
7. 4. Four executives have a bachelor's degree as their highest level of education, in various fields.

It appears rare for a long-time Intel employee with a master's or PhD in an engineering-related field to reach the senior executive level. Currently, only two of the sixteen executives listed on the Intel website fit this description. With Keyvan Esfarjani retiring soon, that number will drop to just one.

Why is it so difficult for long-time Intel employees with advanced engineering degrees to become senior executives at Intel?


Source: https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...l?filters=[-7300596454,-2738893251]#gs.ewebo2

You seem to be asserting that there is a positive correlation between corporate success and the ratio of STEM PhDs in successful company executive ranks. So I'm wondering, have you worked with a significant number of executive PhDs in product engineering companies? If the number is greater than zero, have you reported to any of them, directly or indirectly? Do you have a technical PhD yourself? Are any friends or family members technical PhDs, so that you get an insider's perspective of their thinking? How aware are you of the cultural differences regarding the importance of academic credentials between east Asian companies and US companies?

With small US companies there is often a definite correlation between technical PhD leadership and successful execution, because many startup companies are founded based on the academic research the founders did that led to commercial products. I could probably list off the top of my head well over twenty examples I've run into over the years. In big companies the correlation seems much weaker. For example, in the chip equipment field, Lam Research is a very successful US company, yet the CEO, Tim Archer, holds only a technical BS degree (though his BS is in Applied Physics from CalTech, which is pretty impressive to me). Other than TSMC executives, who are the top-line executives with technical PhDs running multi-national companies who you admire? (Other than Lisa Su.)

By the way, a Juris Doctor degree in the US legal profession is a doctorate, not a masters degree equivalent. Oddly in the US legal profession, masters degrees (called LLMs) generally require a JD as a prerequisite. I'm not sure how the rest of the world works (and I'm not interested).

 

[Daniel Nenni]

It amazes me to see some of the job titles inside Intel. Is a remote executive coach really necessary? If so, how would you say her job performance has been over the last two years?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambergolden/

Amber Golden
(She/Her) 2nd degree connection
Executive Coach at Intel Corporation

9 yrs 9 mos
Executive Coach
2021 to Present · 3 yrs 9 mos
Colorado, United States · Remote

 

[blueone]

It amazes me to see some of the job titles inside Intel. Is a remote executive coach really necessary? If so, how would you say her job performance has been over the last two years?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambergolden/

Amber Golden
(She/Her) 2nd degree connection
Executive Coach at Intel Corporation

9 yrs 9 mos
Executive Coach
2021 to Present · 3 yrs 9 mos
Colorado, United States · Remote

Personally, I think Intel would probably be better off with a lot fewer employees than they currently have (perhaps 90K total), but knowing many Intel directors and above as I do, I think an executive coach could be a very busy person indeed. Based on the comments on various websites from current and former employees, it reads as if nearly every manager in TSMC needs coaching by US standards. My personal experience is that most humans absolutely suck at personnel management. I got my first management assignment when I was in my twenties, and I am absolutely sure I sucked at it back then.

 

[Daniel Nenni]

Personally, I think Intel would probably be better off with a lot fewer employees than they currently have (perhaps 90K total), but knowing many Intel directors and above as I do, I think an executive coach could be a very busy person indeed. Based on the comments on various websites from current and former employees, it reads as if nearly every manager in TSMC needs coaching by US standards. My personal experience is that most humans absolutely suck at personnel management. I got my first management assignment when I was in my twenties, and I am absolutely sure I sucked at it back then.

I agree completely. In my experience leaders are born and not made. I guess I don't know what an executive coach does. Do they have manager coaches as well? I would like to see a mean and lean Intel with a new look:

 

[Xebec]

It amazes me to see some of the job titles inside Intel. Is a remote executive coach really necessary? If so, how would you say her job performance has been over the last two years?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambergolden/

Amber Golden
(She/Her) 2nd degree connection
Executive Coach at Intel Corporation

9 yrs 9 mos
Executive Coach
2021 to Present · 3 yrs 9 mos
Colorado, United States · Remote

I'm definitely not defending "executive coaches" performance with this, but from an "internal promotion" perspective, the fact that they have executive coaches could be a good sign.

Typically these coaches provide services like teaching about "executive presence", and other leadership grooming things that help middle management rise to executive management. EQ is also a typical topic for "Executive coaching". Generally the up and comers are thrown a lot of training like this in line with rising performance expectations on the job side.

Agree great leaders are born; though they can still be honed. I remember sitting through a week long leadership training thing at Lockheed Martin, and the one line I walked away with was to ask my staff "what they needed" (paraphrased). As simply stupid as it sounds, most leaders never ask, and simply asking that is where you find they could use a $50 piece of software to save 10 hours a week doing something manually.. (and many better scenarios than this). (OT - I subscribe to 'servant' leadership - here to serve/encourage/empower the team, also not claiming to be a great leader ).

 

[blueone]

I agree completely. In my experience leaders are born and not made. I guess I don't know what an executive coach does. Do they have manager coaches as well? I would like to see a mean and lean Intel with a new look:

View attachment 2263

I think all management coaches call themselves executive coaches. I've had three I remember in my career, one at Intel and two at a previous company. I think the younger I was the more I was perceived to need it, ahem.

A lot of what was discussed with me was working with peers (I was sometimes viewed as "a bull in a china shop", and "not sensitive enough"). I got in trouble sometimes for not treating more senior executives as some kind of royalty. Coaches told me I was supposed to work at not intimidating people, that my style was sometimes counter-productive. My attitude about these remarks amounted to "too bad", and I suppose in retrospect my career suffered for it. I was once described by a peer as being "uncompromising and demanding". I probably didn't do myself any good by being proud of having that reputation.

I've never met a born leader, especially me. I think leaders are grown by experience. Mistakes are inevitable. The sad thing is that in a 40-something year career I can only think of one engineering leadership mentor I had, out of countless managers I worked with as subordinates or peers. I did see a lot of examples of managers at every level I didn't want to be like, and the reality is those negative examples were important in my personal development too.

 

[Xebec]

I've never met a born leader, especially me. I think leaders are grown by experience. Mistakes are inevitable. The sad thing is that in a 40-something year career I can only think of one engineering leadership mentor I had, out of countless managers I worked with as subordinates or peers. I did see a lot of examples of managers at every level I didn't want to be like, and the reality is those negative examples were important in my personal development too.

That's a real tragedy especially if engineering was/is your passion. I mean this sincerely -- these large companies focus on trying to make everyone a people leader which is a mistake for 1,000 reasons.

 

[Daniel Nenni]

I think all management coaches call themselves executive coaches. I've had three I remember in my career, one at Intel and two at a previous company. I think the younger I was the more I was perceived to need it, ahem.

A lot of what was discussed with me was working with peers (I was sometimes viewed as "a bull in a china shop", and "not sensitive enough"). I got in trouble sometimes for not treating more senior executives as some kind of royalty. Coaches told me I was supposed to work at not intimidating people, that my style was sometimes counter-productive. My attitude about these remarks amounted to "too bad", and I suppose in retrospect my career suffered for it. I was once described by a peer as being "uncompromising and demanding". I probably didn't do myself any good by being proud of having that reputation.

I've never met a born leader, especially me. I think leaders are grown by experience. Mistakes are inevitable. The sad thing is that in a 40-something year career I can only think of one engineering leadership mentor I had, out of countless managers I worked with as subordinates or peers. I did see a lot of examples of managers at every level I didn't want to be like, and the reality is those negative examples were important in my personal development too.

They should do a case study on Nvidia management. I don't see any executive coaches on their payroll. Things are done in parallel at Nvidia versus serial like management bloated companies.

 

[blueone]

Things are done in parallel at Nvidia versus serial like management bloated companies.

What does this mean?

 

[Daniel Nenni]

What does this mean?

When Jensen and the executive staff set a course it gets done in parallel, there is no micromanaging or over managing or excessive meetings to talk about your feelings or to prove to other people how smart you are. It is all about results. He is great at pivoting which is important in the semiconductor business. The challenge with pivoting is that everyone must follow 100% without second guessing. Jensen is humble and sets realistic expectations and when there is a problem there is no finger pointing. Nvidia is the best run chip company, my opinion.