Lisa Su is now CEO of AMD

[mrmt]

Rory Read is out.

http://ir.amd.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=74093&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1975570

AMD Appoints Dr. Lisa Su as President and Chief Executive Officer

SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 8, 2014) - AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that its board of directors has appointed Dr. Lisa Su as president and chief executive officer and member of the board of directors, effective immediately. Dr. Su, 44, succeeds Rory Read, 52, who has stepped down as president and chief executive officer, and member of the board of directors, as part of a transition plan. Read will support the transition in an advisory role, remaining with the company through the end of 2014.

"Leadership succession planning has been a joint effort between Rory and the board and we felt that Lisa's expertise and proven leadership in the global semiconductor industry make this an ideal time for her to lead the company," said Bruce Claflin, chairman of AMD's board of directors. "The board looks forward to continuing to work with Lisa and the rest of the senior management team to build on the company's momentum. I would also like to thank Rory for his many accomplishments and contributions positioning AMD for long-term success by helping to create a strong foundation and clear path to re-establish the company's growth and profitability."

Commenting on her appointment, Dr. Su said, "I am deeply honored to have this opportunity to lead AMD during this important time of transformation. Our world-class technology assets combined with the incredible talent and passion of the AMD team provide us with a unique opportunity to shape the future of computing. I look forward to expanding on the strong foundation we have built under Rory's leadership as we develop industry-leading technologies and products for a diverse set of markets to drive sustainable and profitable growth."

During the last three years, AMD has made significant progress in financial and operational performance. The company returned to non-GAAP profitability and materially diversified its business. Since 2012, AMD has reduced operating expenditures by approximately 30 percent and maintained cash at near an optimal level of $1 billion. AMD also improved its balance sheet by re-profiling its debt with no significant debt coming due until 2019.
Read stated, "I am grateful to have had the opportunity to lead such a talented team and proud of what we have accomplished during such an important chapter in the company's history. Together, we have established the right strategy to enable AMD to continue to grow and transform. I am confident that Lisa is the right leader to drive AMD forward."

AMD Teleconference

AMD will hold a conference call for the financial and media communities at 2 p.m. PDT (5 p.m. EDT) today to discuss today's announcement. AMD will provide a real-time audio broadcast of the teleconference on the Investor Relations page of its website at www.amd.com. The webcast will be available for 12 months after the conference call.

 

[NostaSeronx]

Holy cow.

 

[NTMBK]

Well that was unexpected.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

WTF? Read was doing a great job fixing the company's problems. I wonder if someone offered him more money?

 

[NostaSeronx]

Just hoping for the return of SOI;
http://www.mpsoc-forum.org/previous/2005/bios/bio_Su.html
http://www-mtl.mit.edu/news/archives/2005/10/mtl_alum_named.html

Yes, I've been saving these for just now.

 

[mrmt]

WTF? Read was doing a great job fixing the company's problems. I wonder if someone offered him more money?

Nope. He was either fired or quit the job for personal reasons.

 

[el etro]

WTF? Read was doing a great job fixing the company's problems.

Agreed.

 

[NTMBK]

Just hoping for the return of SOI;
http://www.mpsoc-forum.org/previous/2005/bios/bio_Su.html
http://www-mtl.mit.edu/news/archives/2005/10/mtl_alum_named.html

Yes, I've been saving these for just now.

Damn Seronx, you're like a dog with a bone, you're never giving up on SOI Interesting finds!

 

[SlowSpyder]

Bring back Jerry Sanders!

 

[ikachu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmrqPJigiVc&feature=youtu.be

Best of luck to Lisa; she's really smart and I think she could do a good job as CEO. Rory was in over his head from the start (although to be fair he inherited a mess... I wish I could tell you the true history of the PS4 chip).

He always sounded really stilted in investor relations calls when he had to stick to a script. He had a little more energy in his all-hands meetings where he didn't have to worry about stumbling over his words so much, but it was still mostly a cavalcade of cliches. After a while I created a bingo card of his sayings... "protect-and-attack", "ambidextrous strategy", "the turn", etc. I think he made some right moves but it was mostly the business school playbook (layoffs). I think Lisa could bring real innovation to the company.

 

[richierich1212]

So what do you guys think is going to happen now? Such a surprise.

 

[NTMBK]

Hmm, the CEO who famously turned around Lenovo quits his current job the same week that HP spins off their troubled PC business. I wonder if there's a connection there.

 

[mrmt]

He always sounded really stilted in investor relations calls when he had to stick to a script.

He really sounded amateurish. He never gave a straight answer, he never said yes or no, every question someone asked him was met with a barrage of marketing terms that were mostly hollowed once put together. I never could see him on top of the things he was supposed to do, but to be fair with him we don't know how much power the board have him to clean up the mess he was supposed to clean and how much disclosure the BoD allowed him to make, and that might have had some impact on his behavior.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Q3 results is also near. I wonder if thats why. Plus the rumoured layoffs.

 

[Rvenger]

I knew Rory's days were limited. I had a feeling. I wonder if Lisa Su is fit for the position.

 

[Justinbaileyman]

Well you can only run a company so far into the ground before your asked to step down.. Its a no brainer!! And how do you figure he was doing good things for the company?? Look how far AMD is behind Intel now.. I wouldnt of asked him to step down I would have fired his rear way back!! Lets hope for good things to come now that Doe Doe is not running things!!

 

[Tsavo]

Q3 results is also near. I wonder if thats why. Plus the rumoured layoffs.

She's the only person that didn't run away screaming when approached for the job?

 

[monstercameron]

how far along in RR's plan's are they, couldnt another change in management regress all the progress?

 

[Tsavo]

how far along in RR's plan's are they, couldnt another change in management regress all the progress?

I'd say they are 75% done rebranding RAM and SSD's. Mouse pads and computer cases are next....then they might be done.

 

[ShintaiDK]

how far along in RR's plan's are they, couldnt another change in management regress all the progress?

Maybe the progress wasnt there to begin with.

 

[know of fence]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmrqPJigiVc&feature=youtu.be

Best of luck to Lisa; she's really smart and I think she could do a good job as CEO...

She said in that interview that she picked electrical engineering as her major because it seemed the hardest at the time. Probably also the reason why she now takes on leading AMD.

Rory Reads "we must become predators" approach could have worked in a different maybe more consumer focused business, but considering customers (who else) your prey may not be the message you want out there.

 

[Abwx]

how far along in RR's plan's are they, couldnt another change in management regress all the progress?

Given the means his management was good, he made a single mistake though by underestimating the DT market, so far this is the most profitable segment for AMD since FXs account for at least 30% of the APU/CPU sold in units and much more revenue wise, they need to better stick to their strong points.

 

[Idontcare]

Nope. He was either fired or quit the job for personal reasons.

The immediacy of the replacement, coupled with the near-zero heads-up in communications to shareholders, combined with the fact they provided no such cover as "leaving for personal reasons" goes towards supporting the theory that he was unceremoniously fired in all but name only.

My guess is the BoD probably felt like they have been listening to the same excuses for three years now as to why AMD can't turn a consistent profit, continues to see YoY revenue decreasing, etc. and concluded that after 3 years of this kind of "progress" that a fourth year under Rory would probably be no better.

Still, he was far better for the company than either of his two predecessors, so he'll probably be stepping out of the company with a silly good golden parachute.

 

[NostaSeronx]

It would be funny if Rory Read was booted out for the opposite reason of Dirk Meyer.

Dirk Meyer - To much focus on high performance and higher ended competition.
Rory Read - To much focus on low power and lower ended competition.

 

[Abwx]

The immediacy of the replacement, coupled with the near-zero heads-up in communications to shareholders, combined with the fact they provided no such cover as "leaving for personal reasons" goes towards supporting the theory that he was unceremoniously fired in all but name only.

My guess is the BoD probably felt like they have been listening to the same excuses for three years now as to why AMD can't turn a consistent profit, continues to see YoY revenue decreasing, etc. and concluded that after 3 years of this kind of "progress" that a fourth year under Rory would probably be no better.

Still, he was far better for the company than either of his two predecessors, so he'll probably be stepping out of the company with a silly good golden parachute.

That s a lot of theories, products take time to be designed and the BoD knew that he had to manage the company with the available and planned products for at least two years if not more, if one doesnt know this then he has nothing to do in a tech company BoD, besides he came at a moment where the PC market was stagnating if not regressing so overall his management wasnt that bad given the dire situation and economical conjoncture.