Meet Intel CEO in Trump's crosshairs

Lip-Bu Tan took the reins of Intel in March. Last week, President Donald Trump called for his resignation, write Steve Lohr and Don Clark from New York and San Francisco

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Intel's board entrusted Lip-Bu Tan, the company's newly appointed chief executive, with leading a high-stakes turnaround of the struggling American chipmaker. But in a highly unusual turn of events, President Donald Trump last Thursday called on the Malaysian-born CEO to resign, writing on Truth Social that Tan was "highly CONFLICTED" because of his past investments in Chinese companies. It was one of the first times that Trump has attempted to directly intervene with the leadership of a major publicly traded company. Here's what to know.

WHO IS LIP-BU TAN?

Mr Tan, 65, is an American citizen who was born in Malaysia and grew up in Singapore. He came to the United States for graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a master's degree in nuclear engineering.

Later, Mr Tan moved to San Francisco where he ran a venture capital firm, Walden International. Mr Tan focused much of his attention on Asia, especially on the rise of Taiwan and China as hubs of chipmaking and design.

Walden International has invested $5 billion over 30 years, sinking money into 600 companies in 12 countries. Many of Walden's deals were in China, where Mr Tan's knowledge of Mandarin and extensive network of contacts proved useful.

He was an early investor and former board member of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, a leading Chinese chipmaker.

HOW DID HE RISE TO CEO?

Mr Tan's resumé includes a deep knowledge of the semiconductor industry, where he had engineered a successful corporate turnaround before.