AMD CMO Nigel Dessau Leaving Company

News
By Wolfgang Gruener
published

AMD's chief marketing officer, Nigel Dessau, is the latest to be moving on from the executive ranks of the company.

There have been rumors last week that Dessau could be leaving the company and today we got the confirmation via a blog post published by Dessau on AMD's website. The post, which offers some predictions for AMD in 2012 reads:

"I too find myself at an inflection point. While I am truly excited by the prospects for AMD, there are projects in my life outside of AMD that offer me compelling opportunities. As some of you know, one of those projects is the website The 3 Minute Mentor; I have been planning a book based on the website for some time. […] "I will remain at AMD to assist with marketing organization transitions and the 2012 planning cycle. After that, I will put on my shades and head off into the Texas sun."

A unnamed source with AMD told us that some additional changes may soon be coming. A good chunk of the marketing team was served pink slips earlier this year, shortly after Read's arrival, when 10 percent of AMD's workforce was waved goodbye. Among the laid off was corporate fellow and corporate vice president Patrick Moorhead, who has moved on and has become a member of the blogging world and founded business consulting firm Moor Insights & Strategy.

Wolfgang Gruener
22 Comments Comment from the forums
  • everyone is getting MAD
    Reply
  • chumly
    Quick! Jump off the boat before it sinks!
    Reply
  • phatbuddha79
    sinking ship...maybe they should've named the chip Titanic instead of Bulldozer, would've been more fitting.
    Reply
  • sonofliberty08
    errorcode99i bet it's because of bulldozeryes, someone has to respond for the poor marketing plan
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    sonofliberty08yes, someone has to respond for the poor marketing planotacon72Marketing?...how about poor performance. It's about Bulldozer being a total flop.
    Indeed, marketing can only do so much. I could just imagine the looks on their faces when they realized that for daily use it was slower than the 2 year old processors it replaced, with a higher wattage, and required a partially new platform... I would have handed in my resignation right there and then.

    Anyone get the feeling like the design nerds have too much power there? I get this odd feeling that those in charge are letting a team of engineers go nuts with crazy ideas and need to reign them in a little. Granted, you dont want to scare off the talent that pays the bills... but with talent like that they could perhaps let a few of them go to motivate others into designing chips that work well for normal use, and not just high end crazy super threaded instances.
    Reply
  • rds1220
    Another one bites the dust
    Another one bites the dust
    And another one gone, and another one gone
    Another one bites the dust
    Hey, I'm gonna get you too
    Another one bites the dust
    Reply
  • spentshells
    I would say marketing is at fault for BD
    It is capable of Really taking over the server market
    maybe they should have just said that instead of all the other bullshit
    Reply
  • it`s kinda obvius(spelling?) why he was let go, i mean instead of ramping upp the hype and expectations they should have been much more loow key and honest about it, they made in my eyes things even worse, so why keep a marketing division that only shoots the company in the foot? it`s not school were you can take the failured test again,
    Reply
  • NuclearShadow
    I will put on my shades and head off into the Texas sun.

    Don't worry you will see all of your old friends at AMD in the unemployment line.

    Perhaps that was a poor taste in a joke. But you know things aren't good when executives start bailing off of the ship.
    Reply
  • alidan
    CaedenVIndeed, marketing can only do so much. I could just imagine the looks on their faces when they realized that for daily use it was slower than the 2 year old processors it replaced, with a higher wattage, and required a partially new platform... I would have handed in my resignation right there and then.Anyone get the feeling like the design nerds have too much power there? I get this odd feeling that those in charge are letting a team of engineers go nuts with crazy ideas and need to reign them in a little. Granted, you dont want to scare off the talent that pays the bills... but with talent like that they could perhaps let a few of them go to motivate others into designing chips that work well for normal use, and not just high end crazy super threaded instances.
    again, it only really sufferes in the single core department, and most programs moved past that, and whats never said is that even at half speed in single core, thats more than enough for most applicants to the point you wont notice it.

    also the first amd chip with threading, and its a different method than intels hyper threading, in concept, it is better, but practice... not yet, it has beaten the i7 in some benchmarks. with windows 8 we will see its true performance, and with a revision 2, probably see a jump in single core performance, unless they abandoned single core completely.

    in all honesty, if i was part of amd in a decision making position, i would stand behind bulldozer and to hell with the single core. and work with major software makers to implement amd optimized solutions, i mean that's all that the bulldozer really lacks. i would also blast anyone who refuses help, and refuses to go multicore, i mean seriously, its been what, 5 years sense intel all but abandoned single core on mainstream, and there are still applications that aren't multicore, much less multi threaded.

    looking at benchmarks, the bulldozer can surpass the i7, but poor implementation... that bit them in the ass this time around, this isn't cores where they have an effect almost imedatly, these are threads, and even intel has problems with them for a long time.

    NuclearShadowDon't worry you will see all of your old friends at AMD in the unemployment line.Perhaps that was a poor taste in a joke. But you know things aren't good when executives start bailing off of the ship.
    have you seen amds marketing? god i would jump ship before i was fired if i was him too...
    Reply