The quest to replace former AMD chief executive Dirk Meyer may have taken a new turn.

As AMD's search for a CEO lingers on (and on…and on), word in the channel is that the chip maker may actually be looking for a potential buyer rather than a new chief executive. Several folks have speculated to ShadowRAM that AMD has put itself up for sale. While rumors swirled earlier this year that Oracle and Dell were interested in AMD, those reports have yet to be substantiated. Stay tuned for more…

HP Has A New Nickname

At Lenovo's first North American partner conference, dubbed Accelerate 2011, in Las Vegas last week, a number of VARs in attendance also partnered with HP in the PC and server markets, and several of them expressed annoyance with the world's largest technology company. In fact, they quipped that HP now stands for "Hardly Present" because the vendors channel reps and technical support have become increasingly hard to reach.

Meanwhile, Lenovo executives at the event pledged to partners that their company would continue to invest in support services for both customers and channel partners. In addition, just two days after Accelerate 2011 wrapped up, Lenovo announced a major partnership with ACS to enhance its customer service and call center staff by adding a total of 300 new jobs in North Carolina, where Lenovo's U.S. headquarters are based.

Shavlik Executive Shuffle?

CRN learned from sources close to Shavlik Technologies that a few key executives would be “let go” in the company’s restructuring during its integration with VMware. Shavlik indeed confirmed Thursday that Nicole Amsler, vice president of marketing, was no longer with the company.

In addition, sources said that Chief Financial Officer Dan Kinsella would remain in his position for the time being and then be phased out after the deal closed. Shavlik did not confirm or deny his future job status.

Meanwhile, Shavlik CEO Mark Shavlik will remain with the newly integrated company, as the general manger of the newly formed business unit, a Shavlik spokesperson said.

The spokesperson did however add that “We expect to have the majority of the current Shavlik employees continue working for VMware.”

VMware acquired patch and IT management firm Shavlik earlier this month for an undisclosed sum, in an effort to beef up its portfolio of on-premise and SaaS-based management solutions for SMBs as they transition to cloud environments.