Time magazine has just announced the best CEO of 2024. Everyone initially thought it would be Jensen Huang, but the honor was awarded to Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Lisa Su and Jensen Huang were both born in Tainan, Taiwan, and have solid backgrounds in science and engineering as well as work experience. Like Jensen Huang, Lisa Su does not dye her hair and has silver hair that gives her an impression of wisdom and mature stability. As an Asian woman, Lisa Su has broken the glass ceiling to become an outstanding tech company CEO in the United States, gracing the cover of Time magazine. She is equally impressive compared to Jensen Huang, and her strong ambition to challenge Nvidia's position has led American media to actively report on AMD's layout and industry trends.
Lisa Su recently gave an interview to Bloomberg journalist Emily Chang, sharing a side of herself outside of work, such as her routine morning workouts for boxing practice, revealing her extraordinary physical and mental stamina. Lisa Su said she likes to win, which clearly showcases her strong inner personality. Lisa Su and Jensen Huang are distant cousins; both have become CEOs in the wafer semiconductor industry as a minority of Asian Americans, but Lisa Su said that was purely coincidental. She has only met Jensen Huang a few times at business gatherings and there has been no interaction between their families.
When Lisa Su took over AMD, the stock price was only $2. In 2017, AMD launched the Zen architecture, marking a turning point for AMD, thoroughly upgrading it and entering the chip race, officially competing with Intel and Nvidia to become a strong trio. This year, Intel can only be described as gasping for breath; AMD doesn't have to exert any effort to compete. Under Lisa Su's leadership, AMD has taken on the challenge of directly confronting Nvidia, and even the product lines in AI and gaming are aimed at Nvidia. The previously low-profile Lisa Su has been frequently featured in the media, discussing product strategies and layouts.
Through a comprehensive redesign of AMD's products and strategic layout in the AI arena, AMD surpassed its competitor Intel in company value for the first time in 2022, ranking second in the semiconductor industry, only behind Nvidia. Being named CEO of the Year by Time magazine has made Lisa Su even more prominent, and the future outlook for AMD is very optimistic. Lisa Su is also very confident that she will lead AMD to new heights next year.
What is Lisa Su's leadership style?
Lisa Su has a very different leadership style from Jensen Huang. Jensen Huang can get along with anyone, while Lisa Su has a serious and polite demeanor. She often holds meetings with management in the mornings and on weekends, personally participating in product testing, and even works in the lab at night. Former AMD executive Patrick Moorhead pointed out that Lisa Su's management style may not suit everyone, but it is very effective for those who meet her high standards.
Slimming down AMD expands into the AI and gaming markets.
This year, AMD plans to lay off 4% of its employees and fully develop the AI ecosystem. AMD is actively investing in cloud system companies and announced on August 19 this year the acquisition of ZT Systems for $4.9 billion. ZT Systems is a company that provides cloud systems, computing, telecommunications services, and accelerator solutions.
Currently, AMD's flagship AI product is the MI 300 generative AI accelerator, with memory up to 192GB and 153 billion transistors, posing a strong challenge to Nvidia's H100 chip. The H100 chip has been banned from export to China by the United States and even appeared on the black market in China. Nvidia launched the H200 as a replacement for the H100 while relocating its foundry. AMD's MI 300 is entering the market at this time with a great opportunity to capture Nvidia's market share.
Lisa Su revealed that this year's secret weapon is a gaming chip, reportedly the fastest and most efficient gaming chip on the market, boasting powerful memory. Su's confidence in the product comes from the underlying X3D technology, and she will later publish another article analyzing AMD's gaming strategy.
Lisa Su's photo on the cover of Time magazine exudes a sharp and strong aura, showcasing her ambitious aspirations and a sign of dreams coming true.
This article is not about Jensen Huang! AMD's Lisa Su graces the cover of Time magazine in 2024 and is honored as CEO of the Year, originally appearing in Chain News ABMedia.