Dirk Meyer steps down as AMD chief executive

Second corporate scalp taken as move-on Monday continues

Dirk Meyer has surprised the industry by stepping down from his role as chief executive at AMD.

Meyer joined AMD in 1995 and was appointed chief executive after Hector Ruiz resigned following an investigation into his reported role in the Galleon Group insider trading case.

Meyer has been chief executive for barely two years, and AMD's financial results have been largely good.

"I'm a bit mystified, having seen so many new products in AMD's Fusion line at CES and being really impressed. Maybe things were not so full of sweetness and light at the show after all," Pund-IT principal analyst Charles King told V3.co.uk.

"He has performed the job that needed to be done: ATI's integration, developing the Fusion platform and getting the next-generation Opteron chips out to the market.

"In a way he was tying up Ruiz's loose ends and maybe the board felt it was time to find someone with a more long-term strategic view."

Current AMD chief financial officer Thomas Seifert will become interim chief executive until a management committee headed by Bruce Claflin, new executive chairman of the board, can find a successor. Seifert has asked not to be considered for the role.

"Dirk became chief executive during difficult times. He successfully stabilised 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," said Claflin.

"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."

The news broke hours after Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer announced that Server and Tools president Bob Muglia is leaving the company.