Dell CEO Rahul Tikoo Returns to AMD to Lead PC Business

As general manager of AMD’s client computing business, Rahul Tikoo is tasked with building out the chipmaker’s Ryzen processor brand, which played a key role in the company’s comeback, and battling for share in the nascent but growing AI PC space.

After leaving AMD more than 11 years ago, longtime Dell Technologies executive Rahul Tikoo is returning to the chip designer to lead its PC processor business at a pivotal time.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company announced Monday that it has hired Tikoo as senior vice president and general manager of its client computing division. He succeeds Saied Moshkelani, a 12-year veteran of the company who retired last fall, and will report to Jack Huynh, AMD’s senior vice president of computing and graphics.

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The role, which he took on a month ago, gives Tikoo responsibility for all aspects of AMD’s client CPU business, including its financial performance, product strategy and product development.

That means he’s tasked with building out AMD’s Ryzen processor brand, which has played a key role in the company’s comeback in recent years, and battling for share in the nascent but growing AI PC space, which vendors say will drive significant market growth.

“AMD continues to play a leadership role in all aspects of AI computing, from the data center to the client. As we move forward in the AI ​​era, we see strong long-term growth opportunities for our customers,” Tikoo said in a statement.

Tikoo previously spent more than 11 years at Dell, where he led the company’s client products group as general manager for more than eight years.

“Coming from an OEM, I have a deep understanding of end customer needs and will help ensure the Ryzen product family continues to deliver meaningful innovations to our customers,” Tikoo said in its statement.

The executive joined AMD just before the company launched its Ryzen AI 300 series processors for AI-enabled laptops in an increasingly competitive market. The company is no longer just competing with Intel, which is expected to launch its Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake chips for AI PCs later this year. It also has to contend with Qualcomm, which has reinvigorated its position in the PC market with its recently launched Snapdragon X processors.

At the same time, OEMs and Microsoft are hoping that the collective capabilities of Intel, AMD and Qualcomm will help them compete with Apple, which has significantly boosted the capabilities of its Mac computers with the company’s custom M-series processors.