Chief Technology Officer leaves AMD

Advanced Micro Devices announced on Wednesday that senior VP and chief technology officer Phil Hester has stepped down, becoming the third high-ranked executive to leave in less than a year.

A spokesman for the company revealed that Hester is looking to explore other opportunities but his future plans were not disclosed.

The blow for the chipmaker comes when it is already in a mess and is trying to pull through weak sales triggered by prolonged product delays and hard competition. But the Sunnyvale-based Company said that Hester's resignation is in no way linked to AMD's financial despair or the recently declared 10 percent reduction of its global work force.

The company does not plan to bring in a replacement for Hester and will instead, distribute his responsibilities among the others five CTOs of AMD’s business units. The need to fill his seat is eliminated as each of AMD's key business units now has its own chief technology officer — a structure that was established under the guidance of Hester.

Hester, who had previously served for more than two decades at IBM Corp. is credited for crafting AMD's technological roadmap over the past three years, since he joined in 2005.

AMD had proclaimed earlier this week that first-quarter revenue would miss analysts’ estimates by more than $100 million and that it would cut about 1,650 jobs that account for about 10 percent of its strength.

The chipmaker has been hurt by larger rival Intel’s new product lineup, technical problems that have delayed its own products, and heavy costs related to its $5.6 billion acquisition of graphics chip maker ATI Technologies.

Investors' unpleasant sentiments are reflected in AMD’s stock that has fallen from over $40 in 2006 to around $6 today. Shares dropped 26 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $6.01 Friday.