AMD has recently lost some prime talent, but now a long-departed chip industry veteran is returning to head its processor group. Jim Keller designed chips for AMD over a decade ago, but he's spent the last several years working as chief architect at Broadcom and — most recently — director of platform architecture at Apple, where he helped lead development of the A4 and A5 system-on-chip used in iOS devices and the Apple TV. Now that he's come back to AMD, Keller will be serving as corporate vice president and chief architect of AMD's microprocessor cores.
Although Keller's hire is a bright spot, AMD was decimated back in December, with VP of strategy Patrick Moorhead and Product Director Carrell Killebrew among the departures. Only a week ago, the man responsible for brokering deals between AMD and console makers left for rival Nvidia. Keller will be working under CTO Mark Papermaster, himself a former Apple employee who left in 2010.