Paul Otellini, CEO / Intel

The 55-year-old Otellini, who replaced Craig Barrett as CEO in May, has made it a priority to keep Intel on the schedule laid out in company road maps.

In the area where Intel needed to focus the most—high-end processors—the company managed to deliver its dual-core Xeon processors early, but still several months behind AMD. In October, Intel revealed that its next-generation Itanium chip, code-named Montecito, would be delayed by up to a quarter. It also has faced chipset shortages.

Though execution remains an issue, Otellini has made an impact on Intel&'s marketing tactics. Months before assuming the CEO post, Otellini reorganized the executive ranks to reflect an emphasis on markets rather than products. He is the chief architect behind Intel&'s platforms strategy, including its wildly successful Centrino wireless mobile platform. And most recently, Otellini has been talking about “performance per watt,” promising a new generation of low-energy, multicore chips by the second half of next year.

If he can deliver, that could take some of the wind out of AMD&'s sails. In the third quarter, Intel&'s revenue rose 18 percent to $9.96 billion, driven by strong notebook processor sales. Otellini faces some stiff expectations. Analysts were still disappointed earnings were up only 5 percent to $2 billion.

The San Francisco native developed a strong work ethic early. Otellini worked throughout high school in a men&'s clothing store and later in a slaughterhouse. He also stayed home to attend the Jesuit University of San Francisco, while continuing to work part time so that the family could send his brother, now a Catholic priest, to the seminary.

It&'s a work ethic he will certainly need to call on as Intel moves to expand further into markets such as communications and the digital home.

BILL SIU

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Vice President, General Manager, Channel Platforms Group

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MISSION:

In this highly visible role created earlier this year, Siu is responsible for packaging Intel's technologies so that it's easy for VARs and system builders to bring them to market.

STEVE DALLMAN

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Director of channel sales and marketing

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MISSION:

Most recently, Dallman has championed the cause of whitebook system builders with the company's top management.