AMD Chief Resigns, Seifert Appointed Interim CEO

Following the sudden and unexpected resignation of its president and chief executive, Dirk Meyer, Advanced Micro Devices’ board of directors quickly appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Seifert as the interim CEO. 

Led by Bruce Claflin, chairman of AMD's (News - Alert) board of directors, a CEO search committee has been formed to begin the search for a new CEO. Seifert will maintain his current responsibilities as CFO and has asked not to be considered for the permanent CEO position.

Meanwhile, Intel (News - Alert) rival AMD also announced preliminary results for the fourth quarter 2010, showing 2 percent increase in revenues sequentially to approximately $1.65 billion. In addition, the company reaffirmed that its annual financial guidance for 2011 remains unchanged. AMD plans to release its final results for the fourth quarter after market close on Thursday, Jan. 20. 

Thanking the chief, Claflin said, in a statement, "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."  He added, "However, 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."

Seifert joined AMD in 2009, and has more than 20 years of general management, global operations and financial management expertise.  Immediately prior to joining AMD, Seifert served as COO and CFO of Qimonda (News - Alert) AG, where he led the formation and subsequent IPO of the company. At Infineon AG, Seifert served as senior vice president and general manager in its Wireless Business Group.

In commenting on Seifert, Claflin noted, "During his tenure at AMD, Thomas helped strengthen the company's balance sheet while demonstrating strong leadership and winning the respect of his peers. His operations and finance experience make him an excellent choice to guide the company as interim CEO."

"AMD enters 2011 with considerable product and financial momentum.  Our roadmap for the year, including our 'Llano' APU and 32 nm 'Bulldozer' based processors remain on track," stated Seifert.  "I believe we have significant opportunities to cement our leadership positions in several key market segments based on the strength of our upcoming products," asserted Seifert.

Meyer served this position since July 18, 2008. He joined AMD in 1996, and led the team that designed and developed the Athlon processor.