AMD's CTO Phil Hester resigns, not being replaced?

Man, we know AMD's had a bit of trouble meeting shipment (and chip performance) expectations lately, but it looks like things are really beginning to come apart at the seams. Merely four days after AMD trimmed its Q1 sales outlook and announced that it would be doing away with 10-percent of its workforce by Q3, the company's CTO and senior vice president Phil Hester is voluntarily "stepping down." According to Market Watch, the bigwig is doing so to "pursue other opportunities," which is about as canned a reason as you can get. Still, the most intriguing part of the whole bit isn't that Mr. Hester won't be coming in to work on Monday, but that no replacement will be either. A chipmaker. With no chief technology officer. Sorry, but we aren't buying that one just yet.

[Via PC Perspective, thanks Ryan]

[David Vogt @ Apr 11th 2008 2:06PM]

I really love AMD, and this is just sad.

[zunq @ Apr 11th 2008 4:17PM]

That guy should apply for Nintendo, I think he would get along just fine with Mr. Miyamoto.

[Keaton @ Apr 11th 2008 7:27PM]

I love AMD too... It is really sad...

[Deputy Doffoos @ Apr 13th 2008 7:48PM]

he looks like a german dad with a german haircut,

or like Malcom's itM dad?

[Daren @ Apr 11th 2008 2:06PM]

haha, AMD wants to continue to under perform dont they.
WTF? Fill the spot AMD

[Mark @ Apr 11th 2008 2:09PM]

nice grin buddy.

[OneLove @ Apr 11th 2008 2:59PM]

thats cause, when those kinda people get fired they get million dollar payoffs and have 12 new job offers lined up.

[John Bracich @ Apr 11th 2008 2:10PM]

Wasn't there talk months ago about a possible buy out by either VIA or NVIDIA?

[Jon Doe. @ Apr 11th 2008 2:10PM]

*sings*Bah bah bum....another one bites the dust...And another one gone, and another one gone...another one bites the dust.*sings*

I would be a heck of a lot more sympathetic if AMD hadn't been a colossal ass over the last year....who was it that said it was AMD who had introduced the most innovative products in the last 5 years and Intel hasn't done squat....not verbatim but close.

[iofthestorm @ Apr 12th 2008 2:51AM]

Well, 2-3 years ago that was true, Intel really hadn't done anything that could challenge AMD until Conroe came around.

[Esat Dedezade @ Apr 11th 2008 2:11PM]

Judgin by his belt, I believe that man is... damn, whats the expression our exuberant youth use these days... ah yes. A 'G'.

On a serious note, it would be sad to see AMD go, competition is always good, but I guess thats what you get if you don't really DO anything for a number of years while your opponents keep on cranking out new processors.

Moto, I couldn't really care about, as their phones OS left a terrible taste in my mouth.

AMD on the other hand, it would be sad to see them go.

[Flashpoint @ Apr 11th 2008 2:13PM]

The average joe buying a computer perceives Intel as being better because its typically more expensive and also because Intel has so many labels that the lay buyer has no idea what they are getting in a Core 2 Duo over a Core 2 Quad or an Atom .

First thing the next AMD CEO needs to do is CHANGE THE NAME.
Nobody likes a product with 3 syllables.

[mirage007 @ Apr 11th 2008 2:18PM]

Count with me - Core 2 Duo - sounds like 4 syllables.

[glucoseboy @ Apr 11th 2008 2:41PM]

Agree: It's all in the name.

People hate:

BMW, IBM, ATI, HTC, ADM, SAP, ETC.

[CosterMonger @ Apr 11th 2008 6:27PM]

how about just:

Advanced

{past tense :)}

[Munkcy @ Apr 11th 2008 2:14PM]

I really like AMD. Or at least I did when I built my last computer just about 18 months ago. But if they fold or get bought out or something along those lines, who's going to compete with Intel?

Without anyone pushing them, will Intel try as hard to keep push new and better chips out the door as fast as they are now?

[mattweiler @ Apr 11th 2008 3:19PM]

of-course not....
we (the consumers) are gonna get screwed :-(

If AMD/ATI does completely die (not make a comeback), we're gonna see INTEL & NVidia slow-down innovation and prices rise.

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Apr 11th 2008 2:14PM]

By saying they are not going to fill the spot means they are trying to make it look less embarassing. Couple of weeks they will replace the name with something that means the same and emloy someone else. Ialso like amd/ati and this is very sad to see at layby. lets hope the get going again

[fashionista @ Apr 11th 2008 2:56PM]

You can meet my crotch, spammer.

[Ray-- @ Apr 11th 2008 3:06PM]

where do i send my resume?

[hintertux @ Apr 11th 2008 3:07PM]

They wont fill the spot because they will be bought out shortly by IBM.

[tjoff @ Apr 11th 2008 3:37PM]

Isn't it quite good this happens? If he can't manage to get some innovative technology out the door to compete with Intels offerings he should be replaced. He's responsible for things to happen.

[Jay @ Apr 11th 2008 3:45PM]

AMD, you're stabbing me in the heart right now. Why must you keep doing this to yourself?

I LOVED YOU!!!

[kal326 @ Apr 11th 2008 3:52PM]

Everybody get your umbrellas, looks like we may be in for a shit storm.

[RobJ @ Apr 11th 2008 3:55PM]

I hope AMD goes under. Intel operating as a monopoly will lead to overpriced chips that increase in performance at a slower rate. This will give us more time to prepare for the day skynet takes over the planet.

[PaulPaul @ Apr 11th 2008 4:03PM]

G-G-G unit!

[Christian Martin @ Apr 11th 2008 4:06PM]

Is he going to open a can of whoop-ass on the unemployment line?

[Steventm @ Apr 11th 2008 9:36PM]

Let me guess. Are you still chuckling from Engadget's NVIDIA article?

[Hotrod @ Apr 11th 2008 4:22PM]

He looks like that creepy guy from the iPhone video tutorial.

[ShadowMaker @ Apr 11th 2008 4:59PM]

Well, I wanted to start on monday, but I couldn't quit my current job on a moment's notice. So I'll be taking over CTO duties, starting may 1st.

[duffman @ Apr 11th 2008 5:37PM]

AMD CTOs play solitaire with processors, sadness.

[TheStupidOne @ Apr 11th 2008 5:45PM]

It was just a few weeks ago that AMD issued a press release that they were letting go of 10% of their workforce. Most of you hoped some would be the executives.

Now there is news of the vice president, who I am sure had it good with bonuses "steps down" and most of you now moan that this is a sign of AMD's demise. So just face the fact that you never actually liked AMD in the first but rather any good products released by them and rightly so. Then just call it a day with the time you don't have to waste posting this diatribe.

[Reid @ Apr 11th 2008 6:53PM]

If your company's entire business is tech, isn't it redundant to have a CTO? Sure, a CTO at a non-tech company might make sense, but maybe having an officer in charge of TECHNOLOGY when everyone at the company works with technology, and the CEO is an officer in charge of technology makes no sense.

[thef1re @ Apr 11th 2008 8:46PM]

I can still remember not so long ago, everything was AMD, and Intel were the shitty ones. Then Intel came back with C2D, and as they say "the rest is history"

[Quijeeboe @ Apr 11th 2008 9:24PM]

The likelihood of AMD completely disappearing from the market is slim to none. The OEMs all like having an option, and you can be sure Intel doesn't want them completely gone as it would be an invite for further scrutiny from the FTC. Sure they will likely never be a company the size of Intel however this does not mean they can't release competent processors that perform well (as they do) and sell reasonable well. AMD has survived more lackluster product lineups and gone on to fight another day. The truth is your average user doesn't know what a cpu really is nor could they tell a tangible difference in performance between the two companies products. And while this crowd may be able to differentiate the two; we are a slim percentage of the buying public at large.

[The Dude @ Apr 12th 2008 12:44AM]

Is that a "G" on his belt buckle? What fuckin' gangsta. I'll be pouring out a bit from a 40 oz. on the curb for him.