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Updated Jan. 17, 2021
Intel Believes It Can Do Well by Doing Good
Last week, Pat Gelsinger came back to his alma mater to take the helm from Bob Swan. When Swan took over as CEO of Intel in 2019, he began to steer the company toward doing more activity directly in the public interest. This was not the sort of behavior one normally expects from a for-profit company in a capitalist society, but he seemed to be making some headway when the board replaced him with Gelsinger.
Gelsinger has deep knowledge of semiconductor technology (in comparison to Swan, who is a finance guy). While I have no doubt that Gelsinger is the right choice now for the company, which has lost its crown as the silicon process-node leader, I do hope that he retains some of Swan’s programs.
Whether any private company has an obligation, other than paying taxes, to look after the public interest is a matter for debate.
When asked by the City of Cupertino to put up free WiFi for residents in return for a building permit for the new headquarters, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs once said, “See, I’m a simpleton. I’ve always had this view that we pay taxes, and the city should do those things. That’s why we pay taxes. Now, if we can get out of paying taxes, I’ll be glad to put up WiFi.” And the room guffawed.
