Written by Nicolas Gridelet
Published on July 18, 2008

URL: http://www.behardware.com/news/lire/18-07-2008/#9837

AMD has just announced that its board of directors has elected Dirk Meyer, the current Chief Operating Officer, to the post of Chief Executive Officer. In reality, this means that the firm’s no. 1, Hector Ruiz, who has held this position since April 2002, will remain active although as Executive Chairman and President of the board of directors. This will enable a smooth transition all the while keeping the focus on the company’s asset smart strategy.

While the succession is no surprise in itself (it has been planned for some time), it was not expected so soon. AMD’s stock attaining historical lows these last few days is probably not unrelated. While Intel’s rival owes some success to its former CEO, it will be difficult (especially for stockholders) to forget the high price it paid to acquire ATI and the strategy that was then put into place.

This has now been reduced to a series of depreciations and a significant debt load without really bringing any concrete results (besides maybe a few chipsets). Moreover, there is little chance that it will change in the short term. The lack of competition on the high end is starting to be felt and we can only wish the new CEO good luck...