AMD looks to new CFO to stall financial struggles

IDG News Service - Advanced Micro Devices today appointed a former Qimonda executive as its new chief financial officer to pull the company out of its ailing financial state.

Thomas Seifert, the new CFO, will fill the role previously occupied by Robert Rivet, who last year was reassigned to the post of chief operations and administrative officer. Seifert will report to AMD CEO Dirk Meyer.

AMD has struggled financially with years of consecutive losses, but has shown signs of returning to profitability. Last month, the company said it would reinstate old salaries in December for roughly 11,000 employees whose pay had been cut 5% to 20%. Financial analysts at the time noted that AMD could end the fiscal year on a profitable note as demand for its products increases. The company has a stable of products coming soon, including mobile processors, chipsets and graphics cards.

Seifert previously worked at memory company Qimonda, where he was the chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Qimonda filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year after being hit by the global recession. Qimonda was originally spun off from Infineon Technologies in 2006 and was a top competitor in the DRAM market until the recession and a chip glut affected its operations.

"[Seifert] is a talented industry veteran with a wealth of knowledge and experience managing the operations and finances of companies in the most difficult and competitive sectors of the semiconductor industry," Meyer said in a statement. His experience should help "strengthen AMD's financial foundation," he said.