ECE alumnus Dirk Meyer named AMD chief executive officer

In July, ECE alumnus Dirk Meyer (BSEE ’83) was named chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Meyer has been at AMD since 1995, when he joined the company as the director of engineering for what eventually became known as the Athlon microprocessor, a processor that had a major impact on the computing world.

In 1999 Meyer became vice president of engineering for AMD’s microprocessor area. In 2001 he became the general manager of AMD’s microprocessor business, overseeing all aspects of that segment of the company’s operations. In 2006 he was named president and chief operating officer. He remains president in addition to his new role as chief executive officer.

Prior to AMD, Meyer had positions with Intel, where he designed the 80C51 and 80C196 microcontrollers, and Digital Equipment Corporation, where he was involved in CPU design and system architecture development.

"We’re in an important and interesting business - that is, microprocessors," said Meyer. AMD and Intel are the two companies that work in that field, and Meyer feels strongly that, though Intel has a dominant position in the industry, it is important for the modern economy that there not be just a single company providing those types of products. And that belief is what provides Meyer with some of his drive. "The idea of introducing real competition into this industry I find very motivating," he said.

One of Meyer’s goals as CEO is to get AMD to what he calls a "state of consistent profitability." He will be focusing in on the core of AMD’s business, which includes IT, servers, and PCs. The company is also in the midst of restructuring and changing the manufacturing strategy that supports their microprocessor business.

Though he left the University of Illinois more than 25 years ago, Meyer has a strong appreciation for what he gained there. "The education there did two things. One, an engineering education in general teaches you how to think," he said. The second thing ECE did for him was to equip him with a strong background in laboratory work. "It is particularly effective in preparing you for what you encounter in the entry-level jobs in the electronics business," he said of this lab work. "So I think that early on I was really effective because of the lab-based learning."

AMD was co-founded in 1969 by ECE alumnus W. J. "Jerry" Sanders III (BSEE ’58). Over the years, the company has grown to become a leading global provider of innovative processing solutions in the computing and graphics markets.

Meyer said that there are two quotes by Jerry Sanders that he keeps in mind throughout his day to day activities. The first is: "People first. Products and profits will follow." And the second is: "Our customer’s success is our success."

Describing his advice to students now studying in the engineering field, Meyer said, "I think the one thing that students really need to come away with as early as possible in their careers is an understanding about the global nature of modern businesses." Students need to become aware of and comfortable with the international character of engineering research and industry. "The sooner people realize that, the more effective they’ll be," he said.

In 2000, Meyer received the Maurice Wilkes Award for his significant architectural contributions to Alpha and X86 processor designs. The Wilkes Award is given annually by the Association of Computing Machinery for outstanding contributions to computer architecture. Meyer also has more than forty patents to his name.