David and Goliath
AMD has said many times that it needs to fight the fights it can win. It is David to Intel's Goliath and needs to use its resources cleverly. From what I saw in Austin it still has the personnel to do this. The people we met seemed live and breathe AMD and it's hard to imagine any of them leaving to join a competitor, regardless of the money on offer.
The visit itself wouldn't have been possible without the tireless work of AMD's UK PR person Julia Clark, who kept the logistical wheels turning, even though she wasn't there herself, as she's done so many times in the past.
Our constant companion and sometime tour guide was Ian McNaughton, who currently heads up EMEA product marketing. McNaughton has been ubiquitous at AMD product launches for the past year and this was no exception. His passion for the company and consequent willingness to work far above and beyond the call of duty makes him a valuable resource for AMD.
The event was arranged by AMD's North American PR guy, the irrepressible Matt Davis, who led by example in ensuring everyone enjoyed the event. He was overseen by AMD's communications director John Taylor, who was of great assistance in granting us relatively unfettered access to AMD execs - a key way in which AMD punches above its weight in the PR battle.
Among those execs was Moorhead, who willingly subjected himself to a lengthy questioning in front of the TV camera, where there's nowhere to hide. We also got to know Bob Grim and Simon Solotko - two of the key decision makers in AMD's desktop division - who made clear how much life AMD still thinks there is in the desktop form factor.
Other characters who seemed to epitomise AMD culture were Charlie Boswell, who heads up the digital media and entertainment niche within AMD and helps artists like Eric Clapton and Robert Rodriguez in their creative endeavours. Last but not least there was Jacky Wong, a graphics technical marketing specialist who came all the way down from Canada only to volunteer to travel in the boot (trunk) of the car when we didn't all fit in.
We interviewed many of these people on camera so look out for them on HEXUS.tv in the coming days.
