Executives hit the road at Spansion

Spansion, the money-losing flash memory company spun out of Advanced Micro Devices, underwent some major management changes on Friday. Steve Geiser, CFO, resigned while Rich Previte, the chief administration officer, did too.

Previte's departure was not a surprise. The former AMD exec came out of retirement to help Spansion become an independent company. The divisions that once reported to Previte (legal, HR, etc.) will now report to the office of the CEO, a triumvirate that includes CEO Bertrand Cambou. Geiser went to pursue another opportunity. Spansion is currently seeking for a permanent replacement. Eric Branderiz, vice president and corporate controller, will serve as interim CEO.

For the quarter ended December 25, 2005, the company reported net sales of $592 million, an increase of 15 percent over net sales of $516 million for the third quarter of 2005, and up 21 percent over net sales of $487 million for the fourth quarter of 2004.

The company, however, also reported a $47.5 million net loss in the last three months of the year. The company sells NOR flash memory, used inside cell phones, and competes against Intel. Price cuts have made this a particularly trying market.