Synaptics, a leading developer of human interface solutions for mobile computing, communications and entertainment devices, announced that the board of directors has concluded its search process and has appointed Rick Bergman, a senior vice president of AMD until next week, as president and chief executive officer.

“Rick is a visionary leader with a proven track record of driving performance to a higher level. He is an ideal fit to help Synaptics further capitalize on the rapid growth of capacitive touch technology within an expanding range of markets. [...] With the addition of Rick’s deep industry expertise and extensive product focus, Synaptics is very well-positioned to continue its culture of innovation and technological leadership,” said Francis Lee, chairman of Synaptics' board of directors.   A former executive of Advanced Micro Devices, ATI Technologies and S3 before that, Mr. Bergman most recently served as senior vice president and general manager of the AMD’s products group, responsible for delivering AMD’s computing platforms and managing the graphics and microprocessor product development teams.

 Mr. Bergman was previously AMD’s senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Product Group (GPG), from October 2006 to May 2009. During that time, the business regained top market share by leading the industry in execution and time to market. Mr. Bergman joined AMD through the acquisition of ATI Technologies in October 2006, where he served in roles as senior vice president and general manager of the PC group and of the desktop business unit. He joined ATI in January 2001 from S3, where he was chief operating officer. Over the past 15 years, he has served in a number of marketing and management roles within the technology industry, including vice president of marketing at Exponential and marketing manager at Texas Instruments. Rick Bergman began his engineering career at IBM Corp.

“I’m extremely excited to join Synaptics at this juncture of the company’s development. Synaptics is at the forefront of the industry as the innovator in its markets and is poised to benefit from a refreshed and expanded product portfolio, including the most advanced next generation touch solutions available today. I have always been impressed by Synaptics’ track record of execution and am drawn to the tremendous talent and engineering depth across the organization. I am energized by the chance to further harness the Company’s potential to capture the growing opportunities in front of it and to build on Synaptics' longstanding commitment to driving shareholder value," said Rick Bergman.

Mr. Bergman succeeds Russ Knittel, who has served as interim president and CEO since October 2010. Mr. Bergman has also been appointed to the Company’s board of directors.

Tags: Synaptics, AMD, ATI, S3 Graphics