This IDC update discusses the promotion of Dirk Meyer to president and chief operating officer of AMD and the impact on high-performance and technical computing (HPTC). In his new role, Meyer will report to Hector Ruiz, who is AMD's chairman and CEO. Meyer is an engineer who had previously run the microprocessor division at AMD, and earlier in his career he was one of the co-architects of the Alpha microprocessor at Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC). Under Meyer, AMD's microprocessor business saw gains in revenue, profits, and market share versus rival Intel.