Macroom woman gets top role

A MACROOM woman has become the first Irish person to be promoted to the role of executive vice-president within tech company Intel.

Dr Ann Kelleher, a former engineering graduate of UCC, will now be responsible for the research, development and deployment of next-generation silicon logic, packaging and test technologies that power that future of Intel’s innovation.

Intel ceo Pat Gelsinger tweeted earlier this week about the appointment saying: ‘So well deserved with her many contributions including the turnaround of our tech dev (technology development) organisation this past year.’

Previous to her new appointment, Dr Kelleher was general manager of manufacturing and operations, where she oversaw Intel’s worldwide manufacturing operations, including fab sort manufacturing, assembly test manufacturing and strategic planning, as well as corporate quality assurance and corporate services. Previous to this, she served as co-general manager of the technology and manufacturing group.

Dr Kelleher, who is now based in the US, joined Intel in 1996 as a process engineer and went on to manage technology transfers and factory ramp-ups in a variety of positions spanning 200mm and 300mm technologies. She has also been site manager of Intel’s Fab 11X fabrication facility in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and plant manager of Intel’s Fab 12 facility in Chandler, Arizona.

She also holds a master’s degree (1989) and in 1993 she became the first ever woman to receive a PhD from the National Micoelectronics Research Centre ( NMRC) which is now part of the Tyndall National Institute.