Intel’s tough catch-up race

Munich Frans Scheper is used to handling large sums of money. The Dutchman has been pulling the strings in the capital-intensive chip industry for 30 years. In the meantime he was in charge of the semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia with more than 10,000 employees.

The business graduate has been running Intel’s business in Europe since February. At the top of his agenda: Scheper has to get around ten billion euros in subsidies from the EU and European governments. This is a challenge even for a seasoned semiconductor manager. “Until now, we have not worked directly with the stakeholders,” says Scheper. Meetings with ministers, researchers and university presidents are now on the agenda almost every day.

The business economist occupies a key position in Pat Gelsinger’s race to catch up. The Intel boss started in spring 2021 to lead the stumbling chip manufacturer back to where it had been indispensable for decades: to the top of the semiconductor industry.