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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Charles R who wrote (89589)	1/25/2000 8:32:00 PM
From: Goutam	Respond to of 1572637

Chuck, Photos: Hector Ruiz - news.cnet.com Jerry Sanders - news.cnet.com From EBN - (my apologies if it's already posted): ebnews.com _____________________________________ AMD appoints Motorola SPS' Ruiz to lead company in new millennium By Mark Hachman and Darrell Dunn Electronic Buyers' News (01/25/00, 07:50:23 PM EDT) Motorola executive Hector Ruiz has been named to the post of president and chief operating officer of Advanced Micro Devices Inc., and will be groomed to replace chairman and chief executive Jerry Sanders when Sanders' contract expires next year. "It's not easy to make the transition," Ruiz said after serving 22 years at Motorola, most recently as president of the company's Semiconductor Products Sector. "But all of us in the semiconductor industry hope one day to be in a position to lead a company." Sanders said Ruiz became the leading candidate partly through the close working relationship between the two companies, which included AMD's licensing of Motorola's copper-interconnect-based silicon process. Sanders said the candidate needed to have experience running a large, profitable chip company, have vision, and recognize that people are a company's greatest asset. Ruiz has more than 25 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, graduating from the University of Texas in Austin with advanced degrees in electrical engineering. He also holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Rice University. Sanders had temporarily assumed the positions of president and chief operating officer after Atiq Raza, who formerly held those titles, unexpectedly stepped down last July. Sanders said he intended to hold the positions until AMD recorded a profit. Last week, AMD reported a net income of $65.08 million amid record sales of $968.7 million for the quarter ended Dec. 26. Ruiz's move to AMD ends a tumultuous three-year tenure as president of Motorola SPS. Since he took the helm in February 1997, the sector has undergone a series of changes. In May 1997, the division announced a new market-focused organization with the creation of five groups. A year later, SPS moved to disband one of the groups, created another new group-level unit, and refocused the direction of yet another. SPS also underwent significant employee and facility cutbacks during Ruiz's tender, as Motorola corporate sought to rein in escalating losses. SPS closed several fabs, and delayed the opening of two planned "mega-fabs." In August 1999, SPS divested its Semiconductor Components Group, which was responsible for about 20% of SPS's 1998 revenue. The former SCG operation has since spun off to become On Semiconductor. "Hector has made many positive contributions to our semiconductor and communication businesses during his career at Motorola," said Robert Growney, Motorola's president and chief operating officer. "We wish him well in his new position. Motorola and AMD are not competitors. In fact, we have engaged in a number of very successful strategic technology partnerships and look forward to seeing our relationship continue to grow." Motorola announced late today that Fred Tucker has been named president of SPS to replace Ruiz. Tucker is a 34-year veteran of the company, and was most recently executive vice president and deputy to the office of the chief executive of Motorola corporate. Fred Shlapak, who a year ago was named to the position of assistant to the president, has served as the No. 2 executive at SPS handling the day-to-day operations of the sector in a "chief operating officer" role. Shlapak is expected to continue in his role, a company spokeswoman said. There was speculation today that Ruiz could move AMD's corporate headquarters from Sunnyvale, Calif., to Austin where AMD operates its largest fab. When Ruiz was named president of SPS he moved the operation's headquarters to Austin from Phoenix. "Hector has said before that he really likes Austin as his home," said Will Strauss, analyst with Forward Concepts Co., Tempe, Ariz. "To move up in the Motorola organization would definitely require him to move to [Motorola's] Schaumburg, Ill., [headquarters] which he did not want to do. The center of gravity for AMD could be moving eastward." ________________________________________________________________________ Goutama