Dr. Lisa Su Wiki

Full Name: Lisa Tzwu-Fang Su
Date of Birth: November 7, 1969
Place of Birth: Tainan, Taiwan
Citizenship: United States
Occupation: Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Education:

B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Overview

Dr. Lisa Su is a Taiwanese-American business executive and electrical engineer best known for her transformational leadership at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), where she currently serves as Chair and CEO. Under her leadership, AMD has become a top performer in the semiconductor industry, reversing years of underperformance and emerging as a leading provider of high-performance computing and graphics technologies.

Early Life and Education

Born in Tainan, Taiwan, Lisa Su immigrated to the United States at the age of three. She was raised in Queens, New York. Su demonstrated an early aptitude for math and science, fixing electronics at home by the age of 10 and expressing interest in engineering careers by her teens.

She attended the Bronx High School of Science and later enrolled at MIT, where she earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering. Her doctoral research focused on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology and device modeling, particularly for semiconductors.

Early Career

Su began her professional career at Texas Instruments in 1994 as a member of the technical staff in the Semiconductor Process and Device Center. She then joined IBM in 1995, where she worked for over a decade in various technical and executive roles. At IBM, she led the development of the copper interconnect technology used in modern microprocessors and served as Vice President of IBM’s Semiconductor Research and Development Center.

In 2007, Su joined Freescale Semiconductor as Chief Technology Officer, where she helped transition the company to a publicly traded enterprise and led global R&D.

AMD Leadership

Joining AMD

Dr. Su joined AMD in 2012 as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Business Units. She played a key role in developing AMD’s product strategy and execution across its business lines, including CPU and GPU architectures.

Becoming CEO

In October 2014, she was named President and CEO of AMD, succeeding Rory Read. At the time, AMD was struggling with declining revenue, intense competition from Intel and NVIDIA, and a dwindling market share.

Strategic Turnaround

Under Su’s leadership, AMD underwent a significant transformation:

Zen Architecture: She spearheaded the development of the Zen CPU microarchitecture, which culminated in the 2017 release of the Ryzen line of processors. This architecture helped AMD regain competitiveness in both desktop and data center markets.
EPYC Processors: Su guided AMD’s reentry into the server market with the EPYC line of high-performance CPUs, challenging Intel’s longstanding dominance.
Radeon GPU Roadmap: She also drove improvements to AMD’s Radeon graphics technology, leveraging both gaming and professional GPU markets.
Acquisition of Xilinx (2022): Su led AMD’s $35 billion acquisition of FPGA leader Xilinx, greatly expanding AMD’s portfolio into adaptive computing.
AI and HPC Growth: Under her vision, AMD has invested heavily in AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and custom silicon (e.g., for Microsoft, Sony, Meta).

Achievements and Recognition

Dr. Su has received numerous accolades, including:

Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business (multiple years)
Barron’s World’s Best CEOs
IEEE Robert N. Noyce Medal (2021) for leadership in microelectronics
TIME’s 100 Most Influential People (2020)
Election to the National Academy of Engineering (2018)

Leadership Philosophy

Lisa Su is widely respected for her technical acumen, strategic clarity, and results-driven leadership. She emphasizes engineering excellence, data-informed decisions, and disciplined execution. Her inclusive and collaborative approach has helped AMD attract top talent and build lasting partnerships.

Personal Life

Dr. Su is known for her modest and focused demeanor. Though private about her personal life, she has spoken publicly about the importance of STEM education, mentorship, and encouraging women to enter engineering and leadership roles.

She serves on the boards of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and Cisco Systems, and she remains actively engaged in promoting innovation in technology.

Legacy

Dr. Lisa Su is regarded as one of the most effective leaders in the semiconductor industry. Her successful turnaround of AMD is considered a textbook case of strategic revitalization, making her a role model for engineers, executives, and aspiring leaders worldwide.

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