Intel on June 18, 2026 named Seok-Hee Lee executive vice president of Intel Foundry — Intel's contract chip-manufacturing arm — putting the longtime Korean memory executive in charge of all advanced packaging, system integration and back-end technology and manufacturing. Lee will report directly to CEO Lip-Bu Tan, according to Intel's press release and a Reuters report carried on Investing.com.
The hire is pointed. Lee was president and CEO of SK Hynix — the world's largest supplier of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and Korea's second-largest chipmaker — from December 2018 to 2022, and most recently ran SK On, the SK Group's EV-battery unit. Before his SK career he spent roughly 11 years as an engineer at Intel and taught at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), per a KED Global profile. As SK Hynix chief he oversaw the company's 2020 deal to buy Intel's NAND-flash business — meaning the executive who once bought a unit out of Intel is now returning to build one inside it.
Why packaging, and why now
For a fund manager, the immediate question is whether this is a credible move or a headline. The answer runs through Intel Foundry's economics. The division lost USD 10.3 billion on USD 17.8 billion of revenue in 2025, with external foundry revenue of only USD 307 million, according to Electronics Weekly's reporting on Intel's results. Advanced packaging is the part of that business that can generate revenue fastest because it needs far less capital than a new fab.
It is also where Intel has a genuine edge. Intel's EMIB and Foveros packaging technologies — methods for stitching multiple chips and memory stacks into one module — can carry roughly 40% gross margins, while rival TSMC's competing CoWoS packaging lines are reportedly sold out through 2027, leaving Intel's EMIB as the main credible second source, per 24/7 Wall St. Nvidia's USD 5 billion investment in Intel, announced in September 2025, included confirmed use of EMIB and Foveros. Tom's Hardware has reported that Google booked Intel to package more than 3 million of its TPU AI chips in 2028, and that SK Hynix itself is testing Intel's EMIB for HBM integration — the clearest sign that Lee's former employer is now a potential packaging customer.
The reshuffle around him
Lee's arrival splits Intel Foundry's leadership. Naga Chandrasekaran, previously EVP of Foundry, will now focus exclusively on front-end technology and manufacturing as Intel ramps its 18A and 14A process nodes, Reuters reported. The move follows a pattern: Intel recruited Samsung veteran Shawn Han into its foundry organization as SVP and general manager of Foundry Services in April 2026, with Han joining in May 2026 reporting to Naga Chandrasekaran, and has been chasing marquee customers — it has named Tesla as the first major customer for its 14A node, targeted for mass production in 2029, and Reuters notes a recent commitment from Apple to work with Intel on U.S.-based chip manufacturing.
The backdrop in Seoul underscores the stakes. On the same day as Lee's appointment, Korea's benchmark KOSPI index broke 9,000 intraday for the first time, driven by chip names, with SK Hynix touching a record ₩2,700,000 (USD 1,971) per share intraday before closing at ₩2,685,000 (up 6.5%), according to Chosun Biz. The same outlet reports memory now accounts for 35% to 40% of the bill of materials in PCs, up from 15–18% a year earlier, as the big three memory makers divert capacity to HBM — the exact supply dynamic Intel's packaging strategy is built to exploit.
What to watch
The confirming data point is Intel Foundry's next quarterly disclosure: whether external foundry revenue and packaging commitments begin to scale beyond the 2025 base of USD 307 million, and whether any of the reported Google, Amazon or SK Hynix packaging engagements convert into booked volume. Lee's mandate — turning best-in-class technology into a profitable standalone packaging business — will be measured there.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Figures are sourced from company disclosures and the cited reporting; currency conversions use an approximate rate of 1 USD = 1,370 KRW.
Sources
- https://www.intc.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1773/intel-announces-leadership-appointment-at-intel-foundry-to
- https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/intel-taps-industry-veteran-seokhee-lee-to-lead-foundry-packaging-push-4751083
- http://www.kedglobal.com/chief-executives/newsView/ked202101120009
- https://www.electronicsweekly.com/foundry/intel-foundry-the-last-chance-2026-05/
- https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/04/06/intel-is-on-the-verge-of-delivering-its-first-billion-dollar-foundry-wins/
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/google-reportedly-books-intel-for-more-than-3-million-tpus-in-2028
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-16/intel-hires-samsung-executive-han-in-push-for-foundry-customers
- https://www.trendforce.com/news/2026/04/17/news-intel-recruits-30-year-samsung-foundry-veteran-with-sales-expertise-to-drive-customer-growth/
