Following Mark Papermaster, who was appointed chief technology officer in October, Read added Lisa Su as senior vice president and general manager, global business units.
Su comes from Freescale, where she was senior vice president and general manager of networking and multimedia. Prior to Freescale, Su was vice president of the semiconductor research and development Center and responsible for the strategic direction of IBM’s silicon technologies, joint development alliances and semiconductor R&D operations.
Read described Su as "one of the most respected and technically astute executives in the global semiconductor industry." Her experience at Freescale points primarily to AMD's direction into the ultramobile world, especially since she will "also have responsibility for driving alliances and partnerships with software developers to facilitate the development of a complete software ecosystem."
However, Read appears to have had another reason in mind as well. In a prepared quote, he stated that "she brings an impressive track record of business execution driving leading-edge microprocessor technologies, developing deep customer relationships, and transforming organizations while growing market share."
Add to that the responsibility to "oversee the team responsible for driving end to end business execution of AMD’s product solutions including strategy, product definition, and business plans" Su is likely to address AMD's concerns over roadmap execution and current manufacturing delays.