Sunnyvale, Calif. — Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) has appointed senior vice president and CFO Thomas Seifert as interim CEO following the resignation of Dirk Meyer, as president, CEO and a director of the company. Seifert will maintain his current responsibilities as CFO and has asked not to be considered for the permanent CEO position, according to AMD.
A CEO Search Committee has been formed, led by Bruce Claflin, chairman of AMD’s Board of Directors, who also has been named executive chairman of the board. “Dirk became CEO during difficult times. He successfully stabilized AMD while simultaneously concluding strategic initiatives including the launch of GLOBALFOUNDRIES, the successful settlement of our litigation with Intel and delivering Fusion APUs to the market,” said Claflin, in a statement.
“However, the board believes we have the opportunity to create increased shareholder value over time,” Claflin added. “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.”
Seifert joined AMD in 2009, and has more than 20 years of general management, global operations and financial management expertise.
“AMD enters 2011 with considerable product and financial momentum. Our roadmap for the year, including our ‘Llano’ APU and 32nm ‘Bulldozer’ based processors remain on track,” said Seifert, in a statement. “I believe we have significant opportunities to cement our leadership positions in several key market segments based on the strength of our upcoming products.”
AMD also announced preliminary results for the fourth quarter of 2010. Fourth quarter revenue increased 2 percent sequentially to approximately $1.65 billion and gross margin was approximately 45 percent. AMD plans to release its final results for the fourth quarter January 20.