AMD announced that Phil Hester has joined the company as chief technology officer (CTO), reporting directly to Dirk Meyer, president and chief operating officer of the Microprocessor Solutions Sector. “Phil comes to AMD with a proven track record of success,” said Meyer. “His numerous patents in system and processor design illustrate his ability to create truly innovative technologies, grounded in a deep understanding of customer needs. Further, Phil has the rare ability to rapidly integrate new technologies into high-value products, and then take those products to market quickly through disciplined execution.”
Hester, taking over for departing CTO Fred Weber, will focus his three decades of industry experience on defining and implementing AMD’s future microprocessor vision and innovation priorities. Hester will also manage AMD’s advanced infrastructure strategies, focusing on the seamless integration of next-generation computing functionality into AMD-powered systems.
In addition, Hester will work closely with AMD partners and customers, including Microsoft, the Linux community and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), to more clearly understand their needs and how to best meet and exceed them.
Prior to joining AMD, Hester was the founder and CEO of Austin-based Newisys, which was among the first companies to design and manufacture enterprise-class, multiprocessor servers based on the AMD Opteron processor.
Before founding Newisys, Hester spent 23 years at IBM in several strategic management positions, including CTO of the PC Division, GM of the Integrated Product Solutions division and VP of hardware development for the RS/6000 Division.