Technology Chief Quits Advanced Micro Devices
The chip maker Advanced Micro Devices said Friday that its technology chief, Phillip D. Hester, is leaving, becoming the third senior executive to depart in less than a year.
Mr. Hester, 52, resigned to pursue other opportunities, said Rob Keosheyan, a spokesman for the company, based in Sunnyvale, Calif. His last day was Friday.
A.M.D.’s pace of chip development fell behind Intel’s last year, contributing to five consecutive quarterly losses and a 63 percent slide in the stock in 2007. Henri Richard, the sales chief, left in September and David E. Orton, head of the graphic unit, left in July.
“Any time you have a cook leaving the restaurant, you get chaos,” said David Wu, an analyst at Global Crown Capital in San Francisco. He rates the stock overweight and does not own any. “The top chef has gone, that’s not good.”
This week, Advanced Micro said that first-quarter revenue would miss analysts’ estimates by more than $100 million and that it would cut about 1,650 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force…more