Advanced Micro Devices announced today that board member John Caldwell has been appointed chairman. Caldwell succeeds Bruce Claflin as chairman of the board.

Claflin had been chairman of the board since March 2009 and will continue to serve as an AMD board member. AMD is the No. 2 maker of PC microprocessors, behind Intel, and it competes head-to-head with Nvidia in graphics chips.

“I am honored to be named chairman of AMD’s Board,” said Caldwell in a statement. “It is an exciting time to be part of AMD as we execute on our transformative strategy — bringing innovative products to market and delivering increased value to our shareholders. On behalf of our Board of Directors, I would like to recognize Bruce Claflin for his leadership and for his continuing contribution to our company.”

Caldwell joined AMD’s Board in 2006 and has held a variety of committee positions including most recently Compensation and Leadership Resources Committee Chair and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee membership. In his career, he has served as a CEO of three technology companies and been on the board of seven public technology companies. He will work with Lisa Su, chief executive of AMD.