Phil Hester, who joined AMD only three years ago in 2005, has resigned as AMD’s CTO. However, AMD is claiming that they have no plans to replace him. It is likely that someone else within the company will take over his duties though, as a company such as this cannot really function without a CTO.
Hester was working on an effort called “accelerated computing” while at AMD. This is an effort to use specific circuitry on semiconductors in conjunction with mainstream processors to increase computing performance.
Hester is apparently leaving to pursue other opportunities, and has made no announcements about post-AMD plans. No official word on whether he left due to the threat of collateral damage from rival Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang opening a can of whoop-ass.