He's Ahmed Mahmoud, and he comes to the chipmaker from the IT shop at Dell, which has had its share of high-profile IT alumni.At Dell, Mahmoud held various IT transformational positions such as vice president of global manufacturing fulfillment systems and online development director. At AMD, Mahmoud will have the title CIO and will report to the Office of the CEO, Hector Ruiz.

"Ahmed's success using IT as a competitive differentiator to scale the business will help AMD tremendously as we expand our own infrastructure to best meet internal needs and better serve a growing customer base," said Dirk Meyer, AMD's president and chief operating officer, in a statement. "His considerable talent and experience help ensure that we continue building a world-class IT network based on our own products and platforms -- some of the most advanced, energy-efficient solutions on the market."

The IT executive ranks within the computer business are something of a closed circle. Dell's most famous IT alum is Randy Mott, who came to the PC manufacturer in 2000 from Wal-Mart. Mott left Dell in 2005 to become CIO of Dell competitor Hewlett-Packard.

Prior to Dell, Mahmoud held various IT leadership and instruction positions at Eastman Kodak, the University of Houston, and Texas A&M University, according to AMD. He has a bachelor's degree and master's degree in physics from Texas A&M University.

AMD has been hurting lately, having fallen behind archrival Intel. Dell made a splash when it started selling AMD-based computers in 2006, but has lately begun to distance itself from the chipmaker.