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Advanced Micro Devices, Inc’s (AMD) chief executive officer Dr. Lisa Su received roughly 732 million votes in favor of her remaining on the company’s board of directors. The votes were cast as part of AMD’s annual shareholder meeting, which took place on Wednesday, and Dr. Su, along with other board members, was up for re-election as an AMD director. In addition to the board of directors’ election, other items on the agenda included approving executive compensation and securing the appointment of AMD’s accounting firm.
AMD Chief’s Overwhelming Support Eclipses Other Company Board Members During Election
Up for re-election to AMD’s board on Wednesday were all current members, with the longest-serving member being John Caldwell, who is also AMD’s chairman. Once the voting was over, the results shared by AMD with the SEC yesterday reveal that Dr. Su managed to secure the highest number of votes, as only a hairline percentage of the voters chose to vote against her.
The results reveal that the AMD chief managed to secure roughly 732 million votes, 18 million more than Mr. John Marren, who has been on the board since 2017 and is responsible for AMD’s Audit and Finance and Corporate Governance Committees.
Additionally, only 1.7 million shareholders voted against Dr. Su’s appointment, a figure vastly smaller than the 18 million votes against Mr. Marren’s appointment. They also pale when compared to the 151 million votes against the re-appointment of Mr. Abhi Y. Talwalkar, who has been serving on the board since 2017.
Dr. Su’s appointment came as AMD announced a $4 billion share buyback program on Wednesday, which is the first such announcement from the company since 2001. It marks management confidence in its current capital allocation, hinting that AMD believes that it has sufficient capital to fund its growth and repurchase its shares for the first time in two decades.
During the shareholder meeting, the executive also commented on the strained semiconductor supply chains and her company’s response.
Dr. Su outlined that:
AMD procures all of its latest semiconductor products from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). TSMC, which operates out of Taiwan, is currently navigating through a historic drought in the island and operating at full capacity to meet automakers’ demand following a shortage spurred by the ongoing pandemic.
Dr. Su, for her part, remains optimistic about her company’s future, as she believes that AMD’s strong product portfolio will help it weather any future demand drops in the consumer electronics sector. In contrast, the need for products such as notebooks and smartphones has been higher due to remote working and distance learning, some worry that device makers will have excess inventory on their hands when things settle down.
