Meyer resigns as AMD’s CEO

AMD has appointed Thomas Seifert as its interim CEO
By Agam Shah
IDG News Service (New York Bureau)

NEW YORK (01/10/2011) – Advanced Micro Devices on Monday said that Dirk Meyer has resigned from the post of CEO, and that the company is beginning to search for a new chief executive.

Meyer resigned in a mutual agreement with the board of directors, and the company has appointed Thomas Seifert, the company’s chief financial officer, as the interim CEO.

The company is now initiating the search for a new CEO.

Meyer was installed as CEO in 2008 as a replacement to Hector Ruiz, just as the company was making its way out of rough financial times. Formerly the chief operating officer, Meyer helped spin off AMD’s manufacturing unit and stabilize its foundering product development efforts. After delays, the company last week released chips based on the Fusion architecture, which combine a CPU and graphics processor in a single chip.

Despite the moves, the company continued to struggle financially. In October, AMD posted a third-quarter net loss of US$118 million.

“The Board believes we have the opportunity to create increased shareholder value over time. This will require the company to have significant growth, establish market leadership and generate superior financial returns. We believe a change in leadership at this time will accelerate the company’s ability to accomplish these objectives,” AMD said in a statement.

Seifert joined AMD in 2009, and previously served as chief operating officer and CFO of Qimonda AG.

AMD also announced that it expected net revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2010 to be approximately $1.65 billion. That would be slightly higher than the estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who on average forecast revenue of $1.65 billion. The company will announce its fourth-quarter results on Jan. 20.