While the actual date has yet to be announced, Intel’s Chairman, Craig Barrett, will retire at some point in May. Barrett will be replaced by Jane Shaw, who is the first non-engineer to lead the company.

While it has yet to be determined, our sources suggest that Barrett, like Andy Grove and Gordon Moore, is likely to assume an advisory role within the company while leaving him with more time to spend with his family.

Barrett is very well known to the tech industry as a leader who often gave speeches about and launched new technology innovations developed by Intel. During his time at Intel he was responsible for many of the recent key processors launched by Intel as well as the strategy used to develop them.

Unlike Barrett, Shaw is not well known in tech circles, but she has served on the Intel board since 1993. She holds a BSc and PhD in Physiology from Birmingham University in England. She does not, however, hold any engineering or computer science degrees which could be seen by many in the community as a large down side.

Shaw does, however, have large company experience, particularly in pharmaceutical and health care systems and products. Since she has only been given a one-year term, it is possible that the Intel Board might be searching for a successor with an Intel Engineering background and who perhaps has worked their way up within the company.

The decision by Barrett to step down in the middle of a difficult period for the company due to the current economic climate worldwide is also a bit puzzling. Some of our sources are already wondering if it will be possible for the company to be able to meet the goals that the company has set without Barrett at the helm.