November 2nd, 2009
Ruiz resigns as GlobalFoundries chairman; no mention of insider trading scandal
Former AMD CEO Hector Ruiz, who reportedly leaked confidential information as part of the Galleon Group insider trading scandal, will step down as chairman of GlobalFoundries, a manufacturing unit of AMD that was spun off into its own company.
According to a press release issued today by GlobalFoundries, Ruiz will take a voluntary leave of absence from the board, effective immediately. His resignation will become effective January 4.
Board member Alan E. “Lanny” Ross, who was the former CEO of Broadcom, will become interim chairman, effective immediately, until a permanent chairman has been appointed by the board.
The board did not give a specific reason for the resignation, nor did it make any reference to Ruiz’ reported role in the Galleon insider trading scandal. Last month, the FBI arrested six people in a sting - including senior IBM executive Robert Moffat - for their roles in the Galleon scandal, calling it “the largest hedge fund insider trading case in history.”
The ring leader, Raj Rajaratnam, co-founder of the hedge fund firm Galleon Group, allegedly got inside dirt from a bevy of tech executives. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Ruiz tipped Galleon off to the 2008 reorganization of AMD.
Sam Diaz is a senior editor at ZDNet. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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