1:1 with Craig Barrett

Last week, I got a chance to attend an Open Forum with Intel's Chairman Craig Barrett at our Santa Clara office. After having a very exciting, busy and eventful 35 years at Intel, Craig is retiring in couple of days. For many of us @ Intel, it was our first and may be last chance to actually meet him in person and talk to him. All set with my camera not to miss a picture with him, I reached the auditorium well in time to get a good seat.



It was amazing to hear Craig talking about various topics involving Intel and current economic conditions; face to face. Later on, he opened the forum for Q&A and answered lot of questions ranging from how he came into Intel, his life, challenges and wins at Intel and of course, life after Intel. He rated people @ Intel as the top thing he is going to miss and while answering my question on that he said Intel's biggest asset are the people here and they are the ones that makes Intel the great company it is.

Some of my colleagues were joking with me that I am lucky to meet two big bosses @ Intel in one week - first our CEO Paul Otellini at the Arts and Crafts Fair and then the chairman Craig Barrett :-)

Art & Crafts Show @ Intel

Yesterday I participated in Employees Art and Crafts Show at Intel, Santa Clara. The show was a whole day affair from 7:30am-5:00pm with 20 Artisans displaying their art work which included handmade jewelry, purses & baskets, photographs, paintings, homemade honey, soaps & cosmetics. I showcased my handmade semi-precious gemstones jewelry and my sister in-law's mural paintings. Being a first timer, I was very excited & anxious at the same time.


The show had a good turn around with around 300 employees, friends & family visiting it. The best part was that our CEO Paul Otellini took out few minutes from his busy schedule and stopped by each booth to encourage Intel's own silent Artisans.


I made few sales, got few orders and valuable tips & suggestions on how to take nice pictures of my jewelry. The amazing part was one of the ladies found the jewelry set I was wearing as the most interesting one and I ended up giving away the earrings :-) It was very encouraging to see how people really appreciate your creative interests and want to know more about what else you do besides being a hard working employee @ Intel.

You can check out the websites of some of the other Artisans from the show
Nance Wheeler's Fine Art @ www.NanceWheeler.com
Shobana's handmade jewelry @ www.shobanajb.com
Santhosh's photography @ www.clearsnaps.com

My key take away from the show are the acquaintances I made; I am sure few of them will turn into long lasting friendships:-)
And of course, keep a spare set for yourself in case you end up giving away the one you are wearing!