December 13, 2007 – AMD president/COO Dirk Meyer is “being groomed” as the next leader of chipmaker AMD, but top exec Hector Ruiz isn’t going anywhere just yet.

According to a report by Reuters, Ruiz told CNBC Europe that the succession plan was begun four years ago, but as far as when he’ll hands over the reins to Meyer, “it’s not any time soon,” and specifically, “not next year.”

The report quoted analysts with mixed news about the succession update. “Ruiz has to turn the ship around before he can turn over the helm,” said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at CRT Capital Group LLC. “He and his team need to focus on executing and delivering what customers and the markets expect.” AMD stock was essentially flat.

Perhaps just as interesting as Ruiz’s continued tenure (investor boards are frequently afire with calls for fresh management, as AMD slugs it out with bigger rival Intel in a costly MPU marketshare battle) is just how the got out, notes Barrons blogger Eric Savitz. “Did the leak come from AMD, or CNBC?” he muses, also wondering whether and why CNBC agreed “to sit on what is potentially market-moving news” [exec turnover at a high-profile publicly traded technology company].