Dell Exec Rahul Tikoo Returns To AMD To Lead PC Business

As general manager of AMD’s client computing business, Rahul Tikoo is charged with growing the chip designer’s Ryzen CPU brand, which has played a key role in the company’s comeback, and fighting for share in the nascent but fast-growing AI PC space.

After leaving AMD more than 11 years ago, longtime Dell Technologies executive Rahul Tikoo is returning to the chip designer to lead its PC processor business at a crucial time.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said Monday that it hired Tikoo as senior vice president and general manager of its client computing business. He takes over from 12-year company veteran Saied Moshkelani, who retired last fall, and reports to Jack Huynh, senior vice president of computing and graphics at AMD.

The role, which he started a month ago, puts Tikoo in charge of all aspects of AMD’s client CPU business, including its financial performance, product strategy and product development.

This means he is charged with growing AMD’s Ryzen CPU brand, which has played a key role in the company’s comeback over the last several years, and fighting for share in the nascent but fast-growing AI PC space, which vendors believe will drive significant growth in the market.

“AMD continues to drive leadership across every aspect of AI compute, from the data center to the client. As we move further into the AI era, we see strong long-term growth opportunities for our client business," Tikoo said in a statement.

Tikoo previously spent more than 11 years at Dell, where he led the company’s client product group as general manager for more than eight years.

"Coming from an OEM, I have a deep understanding of the end customer needs and will help to ensure the Ryzen product family continues to deliver meaningful innovations for our customers,” Tikoo said in his statement.

The executive rejoined AMD just ahead of the company’s plan to launch its Ryzen AI 300 series processors for AI-enabled laptops in an increasingly competitive space. The company is no longer just competing with Intel, which is expected to launch its Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake chips for AI PCs later this year. It’s also facing off with Qualcomm, which has reinvigorated its position in the PC market with its recently launched Snapdragon X processors.

At the same time, OEMs and Microsoft are hoping the collective capabilities of Intel, AMD and Qualcomm will help them compete against Apple, which has significantly increased the capabilities of its Mac computers with the company’s custom M-series processors.