Former AMD CEO Hector Ruiz stepped down as the chairman of Globalfoundries, a manufacturer of integrated circuits that was divested from AMD earlier this year.
Ruiz took a voluntary leave of absence as reports surfaced of his alleged involvement in an insider-trading scandal. He will formally resign on January 4. In the meantime, Alan Ross, the former CEO of Broadcom, will serve as interim chairman until a permanent replacement is selected.
Ruiz purportedly shared details about AMD's reorganization in 2008 with a Wall Street executive, who in turn made trades based on the information. The scheme allegedly produced millions of dollars in illicit profits – though, Ruiz has not been charged, and prosecutors aren't saying that he profited from insider trading.
It's reported that Globalfoundries has not been approached in the investigation, and is not conducting its own inquiry. Both Jeremy Fielding, who is representing Ruiz, and AMD have declined to comment.