Pros
The acquisition of Gary Dickerson came with the acquisition of Varian. Gary brings a very focused and pragmatic style to AMAT which is refreshing after years of Mike Splinter's ego centric and random leadership (we are in the solar business - oops no we're not; let's buy an e- beam company so we can throw money down a rat hole; lets hire this executive so we can fire them 2 years later when they threaten my position) . Look at the rise in stock price and Gary's leadership vs what the stock did during Splinter's Tenure Splinter Came in in 2003 with the Stock trading in the $14-range. On September 17, 2013 it closed at $15.04 Since Dickerson took over the stock has climbed to above $20. I believe some if that is due to the to the merger with TEL, which will give AMAT more power in the marketplace and a lot of it is due to the market's perception that Dickerson is a stronger leader than Splinter
Cons
Management tends to be 95% type A's who shoot first and ask questions later, so competition is fierce. THe organization into product business units means an unusual matrix type of organization that makes authority unclear and requires careful management of the politics. Disputes often have to be resolved by the president or CEO but not until after reputations are tarnished or ruined by complaining