Chief AMD Engineer Jumps Ship To Samsung

Goddard, whose official title at AMD was corporate vice president of product design engineering and chief engineer of client products, joined Samsung last month as vice president and system architect at the company's Austin, Texas-based facility. According to Goddard's LinkedIn profile, the move ended a nearly 25-year run at AMD.

An AMD spokesperson confirmed Goddard’s departure and said the company is "hiring to meet the needs of the business going forward."

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During his time at AMD, Goddard had worked closely with former AMD engineer and CEO Dirk Meyer, according to a report from All Things Digital. He also helped spearhead AMD's design operations in India.

Goddard's move to Samsung represents the latest in a series of executive departures from AMD, which has been struggling to remain competitive over the past several quarters. In September, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company announced its chief financial officer Thomas Seifert, who also served as AMD's interim CEO for eight months before the appointment of CEO Rory Read in January 2011, was stepping down from his role.

Bob Feldstein, former AMD business development executive, also left the company for rival chip maker Nvidia in July.

AMD in October announced plans to lay off approximately 15 percent of its global workforce, or nearly 1,770 employees, to cut down on its operational costs. The company has seen demand for its x86-based processors wane over the past year, as worldwide notebook and desktop sales continue to slide. CEO Read said in October the chip maker would start placing a new focus on the mobile, embedded and server markets as a means to offset falling PC sales.

AMD said the layoffs are expected to yield nearly $20 million in savings by the end of 2012, along with an additional $190 million in savings by the end of 2013.

PUBLISHED JAN. 2, 2013

This story was updated on Jan. 2, 2013, at 1:55 p.m. PST, to include comments made by an AMD spokesperson after press time confirming Goddard's departure.