Intel CTO Justin Rattner steps down after turning 65

 

On reaching the age of 65, Intel’s chief technology officer Justin Rattner has been told he must step down.
Intel’s corporate bylines dictate that “employees may not serve as corporate officers past the age of 65.” Rattner joined the processor giant in 1973 and is a familiar face at industry events. According to an Intel news release, he has been a keynote speaker at every IDF conference since 2005.
Rattner announced that he is taking temporary leave to deal with a personal matter. Intel claims he will return, but a role has not been determined yet.
A replacement CTO has also not been found. Rattner also serves as the director of Intel Labs, the research and innovation center. The team at Intel Labs will report to Intel President Renee James.
Through Intel Labs and venture arm Intel Capital, the company is throwing resources into next-generation technologies so that it can keep pumping up demand for its computer chips. Rattner is leading many of these projects and recently revealed that his team is testing a number of “experimental devices in the lab.”
The announcement comes as a bit of a shock, given that Rattner has recently met with the press, and made appearances at conferences. Alongside his duties at Intel, Rattner also serves as an an Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology trustee.
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich thanked Rattner in a statement for “creating one of the leading research organizations in the high tech industry.”