Intel is poaching from Zoom's C-suite, tapping chief operating officer Aparna Bawa as its new executive vice president and chief legal and people officer, the company said Thursday. Bawa will oversee Intel's global legal, ethics, compliance, people and culture teams and is expected to join in May. The move combines legal and human resources oversight in a single senior role as Intel presses a turnaround under CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
Company release: role and reporting
According to Intel, Bawa will report directly to Tan and "will lead Intel’s global legal, ethics, compliance, people, and culture organizations" as the company pushes its transformation and execution agenda. In the release, Tan said Bawa brings "a rare combination of operational rigor, business judgment, and people-first leadership."
Her background: law meets operations
Bawa joined Zoom in 2018 and moved from general counsel to chief operating officer, overseeing legal, compliance and people teams during a period of rapid growth, according to a filing with the SEC. Before Zoom, she held senior legal roles at Magento and Nimble Storage, and she holds a B.S. in accounting and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Leadership shuffle at Intel
The hire consolidates responsibilities that had been split between two executives. April Miller Boise, Intel's executive vice president and chief legal officer since 2022, will leave the company effective June 1, and Victoria Holroyd-Fogg has been serving as interim chief people officer, according to a memo seen by CRN. The memo casts Bawa's arrival as central to Tan's effort to build clearer governance and a higher-performance culture.
What to watch
Industry coverage presents the move as one piece of a broader leadership retooling at Intel as the company leans into AI chips and foundry expansion, with the hire landing alongside other corporate announcements this week, reporters note. According to Investing.com, the appointment comes as Intel advances operational and financial plans for 2026.
Next steps
Intel's release says Bawa will join the company in May and includes media contact information for follow-up. Expect more detail on her official start date and on any transition plan for the legal team in upcoming company updates or SEC filings.
