AMD, Seagate Shuffle Execs

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Seagate Technology LLC made unrelated management moves late Thursday and early Friday, restructuring their executive offices.

Seagate replaced Steve Luczo as chief executive, shifting Luczo to his existing role as chairman of the Scotts Valley, Calif., disk-drive maker. Bill Watkins, currently Seagates president and chief operating officer and head of its disk-drive operations, will assume his new role as president and CEO beginning July 3.

As expected, AMD President and CEO Hector Ruiz, meanwhile assumed the position of chairman, replacing company founder W.J. “Jerry” Sanders III. AMD preannounced the move in February.

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The moves mean significant changes for both companies. In 1998, Seagates board ousted company founder Al Shugart, replacing him with Luczo, a former investment banker. For AMD, the move consolidates executive power in the hands of Ruiz, while Sanders will be named chairman emeritus and a member of the companys board of directors.

Luczo, however, headed a company that has recently stumbled. In January, for example, Luczo admitted that Seagate was forced to redesign a drive for a customer, the second stright quarter that the company had fallen short in product quality. More recently, the drive company badly miscalculated the number of notebook drives it could sell during the quarter. During the two most recent quarters, however, Seagate was profitable.

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