5/11/2026 Taylor Parks
Written by Taylor Parks
Mechanical engineering alum Frank Sanders (BSME 1990), who was named one of this year’s recipients of the MechSE Distinguished Alumni Award, found a wide-reaching channel for his problem-solving expertise: Intel Corporation’s global supply chain.
Serving as Corporate Vice President & General Manager of Global Supply Chain Operations, Sanders finds opportunity to interact and collaborate with business peers and technology leaders around the world.
“I have the chance to engage with people in aspects that go well beyond our core business,” he said. “There’s a lot of knowledge and insight that I gain from those interactions that can then serve our core needs.”
Originally from Rockford, Illinois, Sanders was drawn to The Grainger College of Engineering’s impressive engineering program. Having grown up learning from his dad and uncles, all amateur drag racers, he’d developed a mechanical affinity from a young age.
“I remember asking my dad, ‘Who designs these engines?’” he recalled, noting that his perception of engineers as a pre-teen had been that they primarily operate trains. “My dad told me that engineers do. Then I asked, ‘What does it take to become an engineer?’ His response ignited my interest and focus on doing well in math and science throughout my primary education and beyond.”
As an undergraduate, Sanders volunteered as a math tutor. “Not only was [tutoring] a good job opportunity for me, but it was also an opportunity to connect with other people and to reinforce my learning of foundational concepts,” he said. His introductory control theory course with [Associate Professor Emeritus] Richard Klein also kindled an interest in automated controls and robotics.
Following his graduation, Sanders pursued graduate school, earning a master’s degree in manufacturing systems engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a working engineer, he would later add an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
“I recognized that the primary application of automation and robotics at the time was in advanced manufacturing,” he recalled, noting that graduate school allowed him to more deeply immerse in those topics.
After completing his master’s, Sanders took a position as a rotation engineer in Intel’s most advanced high volume manufacturing facility at the time, initially doing roles in silicon process engineering. He eventually became lead mechanical engineer for the automation systems at the site before shifting to back-end advanced silicon packaging integration work, focusing on process development and high-volume manufacturing transfer to facilities around the world. This experience would lead to an opportunity for him to move to supply chain, where his technical acumen, relationship development skills, and business savvy enabled accelerated career development.
“I worked with suppliers from all over the world, representing various facets of the technology ecosystem,” he said. “Through that process, I took more interest in the business side of Intel. My interactions weren’t just technical—my team developed agreements for intellectual property and royalty sharing as we worked with various partners to develop joint solutions that enabled transformational products that are pervasive in the world today.”
Sanders now runs the end-to-end supply chain for all of Intel’s board and systems products, including third-party manufacturing and critical component enabling and sourcing. He is also responsible for enterprise procurement including IT solutions and third-party engineering and other services.
In reflecting on his time as a student, Sanders values the breadth of exposure he received.
“In addition to the core knowledge you build, soft skills and grit are extremely important and critical to success in your professional career,” he said. “In the real world, often the solution to a problem is not singular and the path to get there many times is not well-defined. These skills collectively help you navigate and repeatedly address complex problems and challenges.”