Su Replaces Read as AMD Chief Executive

Rory Read, who took AMD’s (AMD) chief executive slot three years ago to fix its financial bleeding and locate new sources of revenue, has stepped aside in favor of Dr. Lisa Su, who will take the company’s reins from her prior post as chief operating officer (COO) handling its business groups, sales and global operations.

The company described the executive shuffling as part of a planned transition. Read will also leave his board seat behind but will remain with the company through the end of this year to advise Su and other top AMD brass, officials said.

“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,” said Read. “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.”

Read’s AMD legacy is certain to include his success at moving AMD to build chips for game consoles and mobile devices, providing the chip maker with a market stalwart it previously lacked. On Read’s watch, AMD has reduced operating expenditures by approximately 30 percent since 2012 and maintained its $1 billion cash storehouse.

Still, Bruce Claflin, AMD board chairman, suggested that Read’s tenure, which successfully concentrated on arresting the chip maker’s losses, had run its course.

“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, AMD board chairman.

“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,” Claflin said. “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.”

Dr. Su, who is AMD’s first female chief executive, joined the company in 2012 to oversee its Global Business Units and handle its product strategy and definition and business planning. Her role quickly expanded to COO responsible for all product strategy, execution, sales and operations company-wide.

Prior to joining AMD, Dr. Su served as Networking and Multimedia senior vice president and general manager at Freescale Semiconductor, where she handled global strategy, marketing and engineering for the company’s embedded communications and applications processor business.

Her background also includes 13 years with IBM (IBM) in a variety of engineering and business leadership positions, including vice president of the Semiconductor Research and Development Center responsible for the strategic direction of IBM’s silicon technologies, joint development alliances and semiconductor R&D operations.

“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,” Su said. “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.”

In June, AMD consolidated two previously separate business units, global operations and sales organizations into one umbrella unit headed by Su, who also has temporarily overseen the Enterprise, Embedded and Semi-Custom Business Group that includes AMD’s server, embedded, dense server and semi-custom businesses, as well as associated product engineering and sales.

The Computing and Graphics Business Group, which includes client, consumer graphics and professional graphics businesses and the associated product engineering and sales, is headed by John Byrne, AMD senior vice president and general manager of the group.