AMD apocalypse: Rick Bergman gone

Will the company survive the fallout?

AMD Fusion LogoRick Bergman is out at AMD (NYSE:AMD), quite possibly the worst thing that could have happened to the company. With the new CEO in place, there were bound to be changes, but this one is pretty unexpected.

With the knifing of Dirk Meyer, Bergman was seen as one of the brighter technical managers at AMD, and his departure is going to hurt. A lot. It is hard to put in to words how bad this is, if others follow him, it could be the end of AMD.

Rumors have been floating for months about the new CEO, with almost the entire technical side of AMD saying they would wait to see if the ‘new guy’ was decent or not. The unsaid bit was that if not, they were gone. Rick Bergman is now gone, and if a lot of the remaining really bright technical people follow him to wherever, it is going to be very hard for AMD to continue, much less catch up to Intel.

With luck, this is, well, simply a case of bad timing, and our fears will be proven wrong. If there isn’t any word about strong technical folk filling in the growing number of high level holes at AMD in VERY short order, I would be afraid for the company.

Time to step up and explain what is going on Rory, and make it good. The feedback SemiAccurate has gotten in the last hour is 100% negative on Bergman’s departure, AMD’s prospects, AMD management in general, and the board. I eagerly await an explanation, and feedback from the financial side says you don’t have until Monday.S|A

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Charlie Demerjian

Roving engine of chaos and snide remarks at SemiAccurate
Charlie Demerjian is the founder of Stone Arch Networking Services and SemiAccurate.com. SemiAccurate.com is a technology news site; addressing hardware design, software selection, customization, securing and maintenance, with over one million views per month. He is a technologist and analyst specializing in semiconductors, system and network architecture. As head writer of SemiAccurate.com, he regularly advises writers, analysts, and industry executives on technical matters and long lead industry trends. Charlie is also available through Guidepoint and Mosaic. FullyAccurate