Protracted transfer saga
Chip-maker AMD has finally appointed a new CEO, eight months after booting out the old one. The new chap is one Rory Read formerly COO of Chinese PC giant Lenovo, and IBM lifer before that.
We don't get the kind of exhaustive coverage of new corporate signings that we do in football, so we may never know what took AMD so long to secure Read's services. But a bet on the new boss being a senior exec from the PC world would always have got you short odds, as the PC market is where AMD is primarily focused.
While things like money, control, and other candidates may well have played a part, maybe Read saw the writing on the wall with HP's recent rejection of the PC market and decided this was a good time for a career change. If Read doesn't have high hopes for the PC industry, it's hard to see how moving to AMD improves his position, however.
"Rory is a proven leader with an impressive record of driving profitable growth," said Bruce Claflin, chairman of AMD's board. "He is ideally suited to accelerate AMD's evolution into the world's leading semiconductor design company. As president and COO of Lenovo he helped take the company into dynamic new markets while growing market share and expanding profitability. His sound strategic thinking and natural customer orientation will help amplify the voice of the customer inside AMD."
"I'm very pleased to be joining AMD at this important time in its history, said Read. "AMD is a true innovator and is uniquely positioned to lead the industry forward, delivering the next big thing both within the PC ecosystem and beyond.
"AMD has strong momentum and the opportunity to continue profitably gaining share based on its highly differentiated products, solid financial foundation, and passionate and committed employees. I'm excited to be joining AMD's employees as we write the next chapter not just for the company, but for the industry and consumers around the world."
Interim CEO Thomas Seifert will move back to the role of CFO, although he doesn't seem to have done a bad job - maybe something to bear in mind if Read struggles. On first impression, however, this seems like a solid hire - something we feared wouldn't be the case the longer it look AMD to find someone who fancied the job. AMD's shares were up four percent at time of writing.
