If the process worked out Brian wouldn’t get fired, probably. The affair was very convenient for the board.
Intel had grown accustomed to internal mediocrity and got too big to root it out; the fact that accounting runs the company instead of someone with a vision doesn’t help. Accounting doesn’t like risky bets and Intel needed some to work out instead of cancelling everything left and right.
It seems pretty possible to me that the reason Nvidia pulled off this bet is that Jensen still basically unilaterally controls what NV is working on, and Jensen is still fundamentally a nerd (in the best way).
Intel had grown accustomed to internal mediocrity and got too big to root it out; the fact that accounting runs the company instead of someone with a vision doesn’t help. Accounting doesn’t like risky bets and Intel needed some to work out instead of cancelling everything left and right.