Kadir’s abrupt departure last week comes just after a year of him having joined AMD to run its regional operations for a second time.
AMD’s partners have been speculating as to whether Kadir’s exit at the chip maker is going to lead to broader company layoffs at its Middle East, Turkey and Africa operations.
Although AMD has not officially communicated with its channel partners regarding Kadir’s removal, most partners said they are aware of happenings at the vendor.
One Middle East IT consultant said the latest developments at AMD’s regional office do not augur well with partners and are going to have some impact on its channel operations in the short-term, as the company has been galvanising itself to compete more favourably with its rival Intel. “With the momentum AMD has been garnering in the channel, it is important that the company announces a successor soon,” said the consultant.
However, it is widely rumoured that AMD’s European director Andrew Buxton will assume responsibility for the MEA operations for now. Buxton was in the UAE last week and those close to the company believe that’s when Kadir announced he was quitting.
Kadir rejoined AMD in January 2009 and set channel growth as the priority focus for AMD in the region. But despite all the efforts to stimulate AMD’s channel operations in MEA, Kadir was compelled to scale down operations in South Africa which saw the closure of its office in Johannesburg soon after joining the company last year.
Currently, AMD is represented in South Africa by an agent Jaco Laubscher and through its master distributor Asbis Africa.
Kadir confirmed to Reseller World Middle East that he had left AMD, but was unable to comment about his abrupt departure.
Just a few days after Dr Gaith Kadir stepped down as regional GM at AMD Middle East, Turkey and Africa, it is still unclear when a successor will be announced.
