Major Elements of AMD's Corporate Reinvention

Abstract

AMD is a company with a 30+ year history of competing against a much larger and higher profile competitor. To some who follow the semiconductor sector, the company's only role was to provide an alternative in an industry becoming increasingly difficult in which to simply survive. But those days are gone. In the past few years, AMD has made a very conscious effort to reinvent itself on all levels. And, remarkably, it is now poised for leadership in architectural design, in manufacturing and process technology, and - most important - in the microprocessor and memory product categories in which it competes. Dr. William (Billy) Edwards will share the major elements of AMD's reinvention - and why the company is becoming the new semiconductor company of choice for a growing portfolio of industry leading manufacturers (IBM, Sun Microsystems), investors and pioneering architects, designers and engineers.

Speaker Biography

Dr. William T. "Billy" Edwards assumed the role of Chief Strategy Officer for AMD in January 2004. In this newly created role, Dr. Edwards will be responsible for creating the Office of Strategy and Technology (OST), whose charter will be to explore new markets and expanding leadership opportunities for AMD. The OST will be tasked with developing an integrated, proactive, cross-business-unit approach to strategic market and technology planning.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Edwards was vice president and general manager of AMD's Personal Connectivity Solutions Group (PCSG) where he led the strategy and business efforts for the organization.

Before joining AMD, Dr. Edwards was the chief executive officer of Hesson Labs, Inc., a fabless semiconductor start-up, focusing on high-speed CMOS networking devices. He also was senior vice president and general manager at Motorola, where he helped establish a new internal startup creating compound semiconductors on silicon substrates, now known as ThoughtBeam. Additionally, Dr. Edwards spent nine years with The Boston Consulting Group and also worked with Technology Associates Inc. and several medical equipment startups. His career spans more than two decades in the hi-tech industry.

Dr. Edwards holds a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering and bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in materials science engineering, all from Vanderbilt University.