AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), the Sunnyvale, California-based semiconductor and chip maker, has announced the hiring of a new chief executive, former chief operating officer of Lenovo Group Rory P. Read.

Read will be replacing interim CEO Thomas Seifert, who is AMD's chief financial officer. Seifert has been serving as interim CEO since January of this year, former CEO Dirk Meyer was ousted, according to the Associated Press.

AMD is the second-largest global supplier of microprocessors based on the x86 architecture and also one of the largest suppliers of graphics processing units. It also owns 8.6 percent of flash memory company Spansion, as well. Last year, AMD ranked twelfth among global semiconductor manufacturers in terms of revenue. It is the only serious competition in the PC processor market to chip giant Intel Corporation, with which AMD has a long history of copyright litigation.

Meyer made a sudden departure from AMD at the beginning of the year because the board felt that he had not acted fast enough to get AMD chips into smartphones and tablets, which are starting to eat into PC sales, reports the AP.

The search for a new chief was critical because it's felt that AMD needs a very strong and experienced hand to move the company forward. All Things Digital writes that AMD, in addition to having trouble competing with Intel, is widely seen as missing the boat on key new markets like mobile computing and tablets.

While leading the U.S. division of Lenovo, Read led his unit to a $140 million spike in profitability in 2007, growing revenue by 14 percent. Prior to his tenure at Lenovo, Read spent 23 years at IBM.

Lenovo, which is based in China, is the world's third-largest maker of PCs.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO… follow us on Twitter