CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Lisa Su reportedly holds weekend meetings and frequently communicates with employees late at night, expecting responses even after midnight.
The 55-year-old believes this rigorous schedule is driven by the ambitious goals of the company, which motivates her team to push boundaries
Dr Su was recently named Time’s CEO of the Year 2024.
When she became CEO a decade ago, AMD stock was languishing around $3, its share of the data-center chip market had fallen so far that executives rounded it down to zero
In 2022 the company’s overall value surpassed its historical rival Intel’s for the first time. AMD stock now trades at around $140, a nearly 50-fold increase since Su took over.
In November, AMD announced that it would lay off 4 per cent of its global workforce in what it framed as a restructuring to focus on the opportunities from AI. Meanwhile, big tech customers, like Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, are now designing their own specialised chips for AI workloads, which could reduce their reliance on AMD products.
Background of Lisa Su
Lisa Su was born in Taiwan and moved to the US at age 3, when the family immigrated so her father could attend graduate school.
She grew up in New York City and discovered a love of STEM subjects at an early age, growing fascinated by the ability to write rudimentary programs on her Commodore 64 computer.
The billionaire fondly recalls creating, at the science-focused high school she attended in the Bronx, a project in which she simulated a hurricane inside a box, complete with boiling water and windows through which to watch the maelstrom, according to Time.
She chose to major in electrical engineering at MIT after determining that it was the most difficult option—and eventually earned her Ph.D. in the subject.
In 2012, Dr Su joined AMD as a senior vice president and general manager, and just two years later, she made history by becoming the company’s first female CEO since its founding in 1969.
