Intel is merging its legal and human resources departments under a single executive for the first time, tapping Zoom's chief operating officer Aparna Bawa to lead both functions starting in May.
The chipmaker announced Thursday that Bawa will become executive vice president and chief legal and people officer, a newly created position combining oversight of global legal affairs with human resources management. She joins as Intel accelerates its corporate transformation under CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
Bawa will report directly to Tan and lead Intel's global legal, ethics, compliance, people, and culture organizations. Her appointment follows a memo from Tan to employees describing the hire as "central" to Intel's ongoing cultural shift.
The move consolidates responsibilities previously split between two executives. April Miller Boise has served as Intel's chief legal officer since 2022 but will depart June 1.
Victoria Holroyd-Fogg had been serving as interim chief people officer.
Bawa brings operational experience from her tenure at Zoom Video Communications, where she joined in 2018 as general counsel before rising to chief operating officer. At Zoom she oversaw legal, compliance and people teams during the company's rapid pandemic-era growth.
Her resignation as Zoom COO takes effect May 8, clearing the way for her transition to Intel later that month.
The combined role structure represents an unusual approach for semiconductor manufacturers, where legal and human resources typically operate through separate reporting chains.
"a rare combination of operational rigor, business judgment, and people-first leadership."
Tan described Bawa in an internal memo obtained by CRN as bringing that quality. He added that her experience scaling technology companies through change would prove valuable for building "a stronger, more agile Intel."
The appointment tests whether external hires can accelerate cultural change at a company with decades of entrenched engineering-first management traditions. It arrives alongside other leadership adjustments at Intel this week as the company pushes forward with its AI chip development and foundry expansion plans.
