AMD promotes Rivas as chip leader
Advanced Micro Devices has named Mario Rivas as the new head of the company's Computation Products Group, which designs and makes AMD's processors.
Current President and Chief Operating Officer Dirk Meyer had continued to hold on to that role after he was kicked upstairs earlier this year. Meyer used to run the chip group as a business unit when AMD had both a processor business and a flash memory business. But after the flash memory business was spun off last year, Meyer became the second-ranking executive through virtue of leading AMD's only remaining business.
Now Meyer will focus on corporate activities, while Rivas assumes control of AMD's primary product organization as executive vice president. He will be responsible for just about everything that makes money for AMD, and report to both Meyer and CEO Hector Ruiz. Prior to his promotion, Rivas worked in AMD's strategy group and has only been with the company since 2005.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
