Motorola Sues AMD

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said it named former Motorola Inc. executive Robert Rivet as chief financial officer, and Motorola immediately sued AMD President Hector Ruiz for luring Rivet away. Rivet, 46, spent three years as an executive in Motorola’s semiconductor group. He reported to Ruiz, who left Motorola in January for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD, Intel Corp.’s main rival in the market for PC processors. Ruiz signed an agreement saying he wouldn’t recruit senior managers at Motorola to join him at AMD, Motorola spokesman Albert Brashear said. Motorola, which filed its lawsuit in Travis County, Texas, said it paid Ruiz a “substantial six-figure amount” in exchange. Motorola wants to prevent any further actions by Ruiz that would violate the agreement, Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola said. AMD spokesman John Greenagel declined to comment on the lawsuit. AMD shares fell 38 cents to close at $23.63 on the NYSE.