Question who is most responsible for saving AMD

[positivedoppler]

It was only 5 years ago AMD ended the year 2.3 billion in debt, 780 million in cash, and under 4 billion in sale.
https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/AMD/financials/annual/balance-sheet
I still recall the excessive doom and gloom posts from a few members here who can no longer be found.

The AMD BR wagon was only 5 years ago, and now they are back and once again a serious threat to Intel and Nvidia, who do you think was the most responsible for saving the ship? Lisa Su, Rory Read, Jim Keller, Papermaster, etc..?

 

[nicalandia]

Thanks for giving the definition as I wouldn't have been able to understand it otherwise.

You were trying to make sense of why someone would purchase an inferior product.

 

[CHADBOGA]

So you will turn your back on Amd when they are not Cool anymore?

No corporation is "cool".

 

[Markfw]

I did like AMD a little in the bad days, as they did have cheap CPUs, and I actually got some for friends, who had no budget. But for myself ? Its whoever is the better value. And right now for my DC jobs, its EPYC (lots of cores and power savings). I don't really game, but I am replcing the old E5 Xeons with more power friendly systems. I can't even sell a 14 core Xeon for $`150 ! Thats bad....

Oh, and on EPYC, for current Rome series, I can only afford ES chips. For Naples, I have 2 retail and 2 ES. $$$$$

 

[bbhaag]

I'll probably catch some crap for this but honestly I believe it was Rory Read. Lisa Su gets a lot of the credit because she was CEO when Zen launched but without Rory none of that would have happened.
He was exactly what AMD needed when they were at rock bottom and he did exactly what AMD needed to keep them going. He did what he was hired to do and if I'm not mistaken he was the one who hired Lisa and her team.
Yeah Rory has a punchable face but IMO the guy saved AMD.

AMD Promotes COO Lisa Su to Replace Rory Read as CEO

The chipmaker lost nearly half its market value during Read's three-year stint at the top.

www.vox.com

Asked repeatedly on a conference call about the unexpected timing of AMD’s leadership change, Read said it was the result of a long-term succession strategy.

“This is well planned, well understood,” Read said.

From a 2014 article that Anandtech wrote.

AMD Appoints Dr. Lisa Su as President & CEO, Rory Read Steps Down

www.anandtech.com

For his part, the retirement of Rory signifies that AMD’s transition is nearly complete and that his role is coming to an end. Rory was brought on in 2011 to restructure and stabilize the company after its struggles late in the last decade and at the start of this one, with an emphasis on diversifying the company beyond its traditional (and troubled) x86 and graphics products. While AMD remains significantly vested in those products, they now have a sizable business presence in other fields/technologies such as ARM processors and semi-custom IP designs, which as part of AMD and Rory’s plans ensure the company isn’t overexposed to any single business. And on the financial side AMD is unfortunately still operating at a loss, but if all goes according to plan that should be coming to an end this year.

Though AMD has never called Rory a transitional CEO, his actions overhauling AMD over the last 3 years and now stepping down as CEO after the fact serve to cement the fact that Rory was brought on board to execute the necessary restructuring rather than to lead the company in the long term. AMD is still in the process of developing some of the silicon that will be the basis of these business plans – including the x86 and ARM versions of the K12 processor – so it will be a bit longer yet until the company can fully execute on their ambidextrous plans, but on the business and development side they have completed the necessary changes to allow that. With those changes behind them AMD is now ready to move out of their transitional phase and in to their new position as a diversified IP designer, which is what has led to Rory’s retirement and Lisa’s promotion.

 

[AnandThenMan]

I was of course saying Ruiz saved AMD in a sarcastic manner, sort of. He DID ultimately save AMD there is no way they could have made a go with the boat anchor fab around their neck. Maybe Hector saved them by brilliance, greed, luck. Doesn't matter his actions saved the company.

Some of you seem to get emotional when discussing Ruiz for whatever reason it clouds your judgment.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Some of you seem to get emotional when discussing Ruiz for whatever reason it clouds your judgment.

Emotional? He was (and probably still is) a hack. Whatever chance AMD had in moving to a new, viable uarch beyond K8 vanished under his watch.

 

[SK10H]

I was of course saying Ruiz saved AMD in a sarcastic manner, sort of. He DID ultimately save AMD there is no way they could have made a go with the boat anchor fab around their neck. Maybe Hector saved them by brilliance, greed, luck. Doesn't matter his actions saved the company.

Some of you seem to get emotional when discussing Ruiz for whatever reason it clouds your judgment.

Instead of brilliant and visionary to describe him, he's just reactive panic selling whatever asset AMD had at that time looking for investor to pump cash to AMD to last longer for his CEO paid.

He's not looking to step down in 2008 in a late 2007 news story - https://www.barrons.com/articles/BL-TB-5552 (Hector Ruiz says he has not plans to step down from his post in 2008 )
Got fired in earning call Jul 2008 - https://www.cnet.com/news/ruiz-out-at-amd-dirk-meyer-new-ceo/

A quick net loss chart in 2007/2008, https://www.statista.com/statistics/267874/amds-net-income-since-2001/
-3.3B in 2007, -3.1B in 2008

GlobalFoundries - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

On October 7, 2008, AMD announced plans to go fabless and spin off their semiconductor manufacturing business into a new company temporarily called The Foundry Company. Mubadala announced their subsidiary Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) agreed to pay $700 million to increase their stake in AMD's semiconductor manufacturing business to 55.6% (up from 8.1%). Mubadala will invest $314 million for 58 million new shares, increasing their stake in AMD to 19.3%.


Doesn't take a genius CEO to propose not investing in high fixed cost capital investment when the company under your leadership lost -3.3B in 2007. Any low level junior accountant will do the job just fine.