Intel has appointed Aparna Bawa as executive vice president and chief legal & people officer. Bawa will report directly to Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and is set to join the company in May. Intel said the move supports its broader transformation and execution agenda.
In its announcement, Intel said Aparna Bawa will help strengthen the company’s legal and compliance foundation while also advancing a high-performance culture and aligning the people strategy with long-term business priorities. Tan said the role has become more critical as Intel pushes for cultural transformation with “discipline, speed, and integrity.”
Intel’s latest leadership changes also reflect Tan’s effort to flatten the company’s structure and reduce hierarchy.
About Aparna Bawa
Aparna Bawa comes to Intel from Zoom, where she most recently served as chief operating officer. She oversaw People Experience, Government Relations, Security, Privacy, Compliance and Trust and Safety. Before that, she was Zoom’s chief legal officer.
Her background is heavily rooted in technology company operations and corporate law. Before joining Zoom in 2018, Aparna Bawa was senior vice president and general counsel at Magento Commerce. Earlier, she was vice president and general counsel at Nimble Storage, where she helped guide the company’s IPO in 2013 and later its sale to Hewlett Packard Enterprise in 2017. She also led legal and corporate development at Inphi Corp and began her career as a corporate and securities attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. She worked as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank and serves on the board of Palo Alto Networks.
That mix of legal, governance, dealmaking and operating experience explains why Intel appears to be placing her in a role that spans both compliance and people management. Aparna Bawa has worked across periods of growth, acquisitions and organizational change, which is the kind of background Intel is looking for as it tries to stabilize execution. That last point is an inference from the role she has held and the responsibilities Intel outlined.
Before Bawa’s appointment, Intel’s legal and people responsibilities were split between two executives. April Miller Boise had been serving as Intel’s executive vice president and chief legal officer since 2022, while Victoria Holroyd-Fogg was Intel’s interim chief people officer. Intel’s leadership changes under Tan had already placed those functions in different hands before they were brought together in Bawa’s new role.
CRN reported that Boise will leave Intel effective June 1, while Holroyd-Fogg had been serving as interim chief people officer after Christy Pambianchi left for Caterpillar. Intel’s announcement said Aparna Bawa will take on the combined role and start in May.
Why the move matters
Intel is still in the middle of a wider reset under Lip-Bu Tan, who has been reshaping the executive team and pushing for faster decision-making. Bringing legal and people leadership into one role suggests Intel wants tighter control over governance, workplace culture and execution at the same time.
Intel has been under pressure to simplify its structure, improve accountability and move faster in a market that is punishing slow execution. Bawa’s appointment fits that pattern: a senior operator with deep legal experience, brought in to help anchor the company’s next phase of change.
Bottom line
Intel’s decision to appoint Aparna Bawa as chief legal & people officer shows that the company is treating legal, compliance and workforce leadership as part of the same turnaround effort. Bawa’s track record at Zoom, Magento and Nimble Storage gives Intel a leader with both legal depth and operating experience.
