The president has named Otellini to serve on a newly-created Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, which is headed by another business executive, Jeffrey Immelt of General Electric.

Otellini has been among critics of Obama administration policies, saying they have failed to create enough business and consumer confidence. In a recent speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Obama urged companies to "get off the sidelines" and do more to help create jobs.

Introducing the president, Otellini referred to what he called a need to "re-ignite" innovation as a means to create jobs and wealth, and pointed to Intel investments in education, particularly in science and math.

"Building such a future requires more than just investments in technology and manufacturing," said Otellini. "We also need to invest in educating and training the workers that will invent and manage the industries of the future."

In his remarks in Oregon, President Obama once again touted his "Race to the Top" initiative, which challenges school systems across the country to raise standards in return for federal aid.

He also pointed to his STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) initiative, an effort to train 100,000 new teachers over the next decade, along with steps designed to make college more affordable and efforts re-vitalize community colleges across the nation.

At a private dinner Thursday in San Francisco, Obama met with a dozen technology executives and innovators, including Steve Jobs of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, and the CEOs of Twitter, Google and Yahoo.