AMD CEO replaced amid losses

Author: Gareth Halfacree
Published: 18th July 2008
Comments (8) Stumble
AMD CEO Hector Ruiz, left, has been replaced with Dirk Meyer, right, ahead of schedule in order to stem losses.

AMD CEO Hector Ruiz, left, has been replaced with Dirk Meyer, right, ahead of schedule in order to stem losses.

The CEO of chip maker AMD, Hector Ruiz, is to step down from his role at the company and will be replaced by Dirk Meyer, according to CNet News.

The move for Ruiz from CEO to executive chairman comes at a time when AMD is struggling to complete both in its traditional processor marketplace against rival Intel and in the graphics market against nVidia after the purchase of ATI back in 2006. The change in leadership was announced yesterday during a conference call run by AMD to announce its second-quarter financials, with Ruiz stating that “the time is right to turn the company over to a new leader.”

It's hard to see the move as anything other than a vote of no confidence by the board. Although AMD has been suffering from poor financials for quite some time, Ruiz had previously stated that he was to continue in his role as CEO until at least 2009 – although he had already named Meyer as his successor at that time. It's clear that something had to give, however: other announcements made in the conference call included losses of $1.2 billion and the news that AMD is to cease manufacturing chips for hand-held devices and digital television equipment, which it previously did as part of its ATI acquisition. The decision to concentrate on core markets has cost the company dearly this quarter, with a charge of $876 million being made in order to leave those markets. An additional loss of $269 million completes the rather sorry picture for the company.

Although the news is unlikely to offer fans of ATI's hand-held and TV-related products cheer, it has to be hoped that a change of leadership plus the ability to concentrate its rapidly dwindling resources on its core competencies will return the popular processor maker to its rightful place at the side of current market leader Intel.

Are you hoping that Meyer will be able to bring the underdog back into the game, or has Intel stormed too far ahead with its latest ranges of products for AMD to ever catch up? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
Quote mrb_no1 18th July 2008, 09:11
obviously they scaled the losses of pulling out of the hand held and tv market, as a company doesnt just say, ah bollox to it, lets throw away 1.1bn in moving out of markets as the story indicates.

Change can be good and amd does need a new ass kicker and clearly a new strategist so maybe this mayer fella can do it, or atleast start amd back on its road to recovery.

note: 2nd para, 2nd line, complete should read compete.

peace
Quote HatriX 18th July 2008, 10:30
They did well with HD 4000 series, hope they've got some processor-related tricks up their sleeve too.
Quote Xir 18th July 2008, 10:33
...Ruiz was never a really sympathetic leader...but he WAS efficient, and downsized AMD already quite heavily when he took over from Jerry Sanders.
Not sure about Meyer though.
Quote frontline 18th July 2008, 10:34
Hopefully the strong showing of the 4800 series cards will offer some cheer in the long term, however they definitely need something that fits socket AM2 that is truly competitive in the short term. The new 45nm Phenoms look interesting, however Intel won't just be sitting around idly either.
Quote Paradigm Shifter 18th July 2008, 11:34
From the looks of things, the 45nm Phenoms are going to be what Phenom should have started as and improved from. As it stands, AMD are way behind in the CPU front now, especially with Nehalem coming up fast. They've got their GPU act together after the false start that was R600, though, so that's good. Let's see if they can maintain the momentum. :D

Ruiz going isn't a bad thing. However, they seem to be talk of them selling off their FABs, too... which doesn't seem a good idea when their production capability is already so much lower than Intels... :(
Quote Timmy_the_tortoise 18th July 2008, 12:21
I really hope AMD buck their ideas up and release a contender to Nehalem.. Because I am actually getting a bit sick of Intel's dominance in the market.. I want a little competition and competitive pricing.. I mean, a (flagship) CPU for £600+? Come on Intel.. be reasonable..

They managed to do pull a decent videocard out with 4800.. so let's hope they can pull another Athlon64 on Intel's ass.
Quote Tile 18th July 2008, 14:07
Deleted
Quote Timmy_the_tortoise 18th July 2008, 15:19
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tile
If the new Phenoms are just a shade under Nehalem's performance and half their price then AMD has a winner.

That's exaclty what they've done with Radeon 4800s..

When do the new Phenom's come out?
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