Leslie L. Vadász (bornVadász László; born September 12, 1936, inBudapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian[1][2]-Americanengineer andmanager, one of the founding members ofIntel Corporation.[3]
Vadász was born in Budapest to Jewish parents.[4] In 1944, his family was incarcerated in the city's ghetto, where they miraculously survived.[4] In his hometown, Budapest, Vadász developed an early interest inmathematics andliterature.[5] After the1956 Hungarian revolution, he emigrated toCanada.[6] He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering fromMcGill University inMontreal (1961) and attended the six-week Advanced Management Program (AMP) atHarvard University (1990).[7]
Vadász moved to the United States in 1961[8] first working at Transitron Corporation (1961–1964, R&D) and then atFairchild Semiconductor International (1964–1968, R&D) where he helped develop thesilicon gate process.[3][9]
Robert Noyce, andGordon Moore, his colleagues at Fairchild Semiconductor founded theIntel Corporation in 1968.[10][11] When the company was founded, Vadász and the also Hungarian Gróf András (Andrew Grove), who took him with him to the new company, they became the company's third and fourth (first non-owner) employees.[12] Vadász, who used to be once the fourth employee of the world-renowned global semiconductor corporation, retired in 2003 asExecutive Vice President of the company.[5]
Vadász was the head of the MOS design department where the firstmicroprocessor,[13] theIntel 4004[11] was developed and led the development of the first highly integrated dynamicRAM and firstEPROM chips within the company.[3]
Vadász founded theIntel Capital venture capital firm in 1991, and remained president until he retired in 2003.[13] Since its establishment, the strategic investment firm has paved the way for more than a thousand companies in more than thirty countries around the world. Following his retirement, he remained an Emeritus member of Intel's board of directors.[13]
When announcing Vadász's retirement in 2003, Intel CEOCraig Barrett said: "[Les Vadász] is an engineering engineer who has a great sense of where the industry is headed and where we need to be to succeed. Intel's leadership in the semiconductor industry is largely due to Les Vadász' achievements."[8]
 | This article about an American businessperson born in the 1930s is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
 | This article about an American electrical engineer is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
