Only politicians need apply?
On a personal level we can't see how this is a good move for AMD. Amato was a very passionate and convincing speaker - a skill helped rather than hindered by his Italian accent. When Amato briefed us, we could tell that he believed passionately in what he was saying.
He never ran away from difficult questions and, by taking so much time to speak to journalists, was one of the key ways in which AMD punched above its weight against the marketing might of Intel.
Within AMD he drove his team hard but never asked them to work harder than he himself was prepared to. As a leader from the front he will presumably be missed within AMD (although clearly not universally) and as an engaging spokesperson he will be missed by journalists.
The AMD top brass presumably thinks it had good reason to dismiss him, but he won't be easily replaced. Senior product marketing manager Ian McNaughton has a similarly fluent and passionate delivery in his dealings with the press and is just as hard a worker, but if they promote him they've still got to find someone to do his old job.
It could be that Amato's outspoken and blunt nature contributed to his downfall. If so there's a certain irony to that as he was a key decision maker in the events that led to the departure of Dave Everitt, who was also known for telling it like it is. Whoever steps into Amato's shoes had better have their political wits about them if they want to stay in the job for long.
