Big Shake-Up At AMD

As AMD focuses more on engineering, two top executives quit, following the resignation of the chief technical officer in February.

For some time the perception has been that AMD has been lagging behind rival Intel in innovation. There have been problems, most recently one with the quad-core server processor that led to the resignation of chief technical officer Phil Hester in February.

Now, after some soul-searching, there are big changes happening in the company. Two top executives, the chief talent officer and the executive vice president of the Computing Solutions Group have both left to “pursue other opportunities,” as a statement called it.

In the restructuring, AMD will have a central engineering department. AMD president and CEO, Dick Martin, explained,

"Placing experienced leaders in new, more focused, roles will enhance our execution and progress towards sustained profitability and long-term success. The creation of a central engineering organization aligns and focuses AMD’s world-class engineers and intellectual property portfolio on the strong business opportunities in front of us."

One of the focuses of the new unit will be seeing that new chips reach the market more quickly.