Mario Rivas Is History, AMD Appoints New Server Chief

Advanced Micro Devices has just announced a major change in its executive board, as Mario Rivas, the company's former senior vice president of the Computing Solutions Group, left to pursue other challenges. According to the company, his position will be taken by Randy Allen, formerly chief of AMD's server business.

It seems like yesterday's rumors have proven right and Rivas had to leave the company, as he was more or less responsible for the Barcelona disaster, along with other top executives (Stephen DiFranco and Philip Hester).

Rivas was not the only executive to be sacrificed over the Barcelona failure. Michel Cadieux, formerly senior vice president and Chief Talent Officer, also had to part ways with the CPU manufacturer. Randy Allen will directly report to the company's chief operating officer Dirk Meyer. His appointment as senior vice president of computing solutions seems to be a smart corporate move, given the fact that Allen is regarded as being more competent than its predecessor.

The chip manufacturer also talked about forming a group called the Central Engineering organization that will supervise the company's product roadmaps. According to the company, the Central Engineering will be jointly coordinated by Chekib Akrout and Jeff VerHeul, corporate VP of design engineering. Akrout is a newly-hired engineer, formerly employed as vice president of design technology at Freescale Semiconductor.

"Placing experienced leaders in new, more focused roles will enhance our execution and progress towards sustained profitability and long-term success", said Meyer. "The creation of a Centralized Engineering organization aligns and focuses AMD's world-class engineers and intellectual property portfolio on the strong business opportunities in front of us", he continued.

AMD also appointed Allen Sockwell as senior vice-president of human resources (what's left of those resources after the pink-slip party) and Chief Talent Officer. Sockwell will replace Cadieux who came to AMD as an ATI executive, right after the 2006 purchase.

"I am therefore pleased to announce that Allen Sockwell has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Human Resources, and Chief Talent Officer", wrote Meyer in an e-mail message intercepted by the Inquirer. "Michel Cadieux, our former Chief Talent Officer, has left AMD. I thank Michel for his many contributions over the years, first to ATI and then at AMD. We all wish him the best in his future endeavors", he concluded.