Lisa Su (蘇姿丰)
Dr. Lisa Su (蘇姿丰, born December 8, 1969) is a Taiwanese American business executive and engineer who has served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) since October 2014. Under her leadership, AMD has experienced a dramatic turnaround and significant growth, becoming one of the most valuable semiconductor companies in the world.
Early Life and Education
Su was born in Taipei, Taiwan. Her family immigrated to the United States when she was four years old, settling in Texas.
She earned her academic degrees at Rice University and Stanford University:
- B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Rice University (1994)
- M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Rice University (1994)
- Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University (2003)
Her doctoral research focused on semiconductor device physics and reliability.
Career
Early Career
Before joining AMD, Su held positions at several major technology companies:
- National Semiconductor — Device engineer
- IBM — Semiconductor research and development
- AMD (first stint) — Product planning and architecture
- Texas Instruments — Senior vice president and CTO of the Embedded and Connected Processing Group
CEO of AMD (2014-present)
Su returned to AMD as CEO in October 2014, succeeding Rory Read. She was appointed Chairman in May 2016. Under her leadership:
- Ryzen CPUs (2017) — Launched the Ryzen line of consumer processors, marking AMD’s return to competitiveness with Intel
- EPYC Server Processors (2017) — Entered the server market with high-performance processors
- Radeon GPUs — Revitalized AMD’s graphics division
- Zen Architecture — Oversaw the development of the Zen microarchitecture, which fundamentally changed AMD’s competitive position
Under Su’s leadership, AMD’s revenue grew from approximately 22 billion in 2021, and the company’s market capitalization increased from roughly 200 billion at its peak.
Recognition
Su has received numerous awards and recognitions:
- Forbes listed her as one of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women consistently
- Fortune named her Businessperson of the Year in 2020
- Time named her one of the 100 Most Influential People
- Received the IEEE/RSE James Clerk Maxwell Medal (2019)
- Inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame (2023)
Taiwanese American Identity
Su’s Taiwanese American background has been a source of pride and inspiration for many in the Taiwanese American community. She has spoken about the influence of her parents’ emphasis on education and her father’s career as an electrical engineer at Bell Labs on her own career path.
Su remains connected to Taiwan and has visited multiple times for business and personal reasons. She has been recognized as a role model for Taiwanese Americans and Asian Americans in STEM fields.