Eight months after Dirk Meyer resigned as CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, the world s second-largest chip maker has found a replacement from the executive ranks of PC vendor Lenovo.
AMD on Aug. 25 announced that Rory Read is the new president and CEO of AMD. Read most recently was president and COO of Lenovo, and prior to that had spent 23 years with IBM. Read also will be on the company s board of directors.
AMD Board Chairman Bruce Claflin noted Read s record of driving profit growth during his time with Lenovo as a key asset that he brings to the chip vendor.
"He is ideally suited to accelerate AMD’s evolution into the world’s leading semiconductor design company,” Claflin said in a statement. “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."
According to AMD, Read was in charge of Lenovo’s day-to-day operations worldwide, including pushing forward the company’s growth strategy. He was responsible for double-digit revenue growth and market share gains. He had been president and COO at Lenovo for the past two years.
"I’m very pleased to be joining AMD at this important time in its history,” Read said in a statement. “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."
Read s appointment brings stability to AMD as it pushes forward its Fusion strategy. AMD’s Fusion APUs (accelerated processing units) offer the graphics chip and CPU on the same piece of silicon, a move designed to improve the performance and energy efficiency of the chips. AMD rolled out the first of its Fusion processors at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in January.
To read the original eWeek article, click here: AMD Picks Lenovo President as New CEO
