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Hector Ruiz | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1945-12-25)December 25, 1945 (age 79) |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin (BS, 1968; MS, 1970) Rice University (PhD, 1973) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Electrical engineering |
| Institutions | Texas Instruments Motorola AMD GlobalFoundries |
Hector de Jesus Ruiz Cardenas (born December 25, 1945) is the chairman and CEO ofAdvanced Nanotechnology Solutions, Inc. and formerCEO &executive chairman of semiconductor companyAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD).[1]
Ruiz is the author ofSlingshot: AMD's Fight To Free An Industry From The Ruthless Grip Of Intel, "a book that memorializes his bet-the-company decision in 2005 to file an antitrust case against its much larger rival."[2] The book also "elaborates on his humble upbringing as well as advice and lessons learned from relatives and teachers."
Ruiz was born in the border town ofPiedras Negras, Coahuila,Mexico. As a teenager, he walked across theMexico – United States border every day to attend a high school in nearbyEagle Pass, Texas, from which he graduated asvaledictorian just three years after beginning to learnEnglish. Ruiz earned a BS and MS inelectrical engineering from theUniversity of Texas at Austin in 1968 and 1970 respectively and aPhD fromRice University in 1973.[3]
In 2012, Ruiz—along with former First LadyLaura Bush, Charles Matthews, Melinda Perrin, Julius Glickman and AdmiralWilliam H. McRaven—was named a Distinguished Alumnus of theUniversity of Texas.[4][5]
Ruiz worked atTexas Instruments for six years andMotorola for 22 years, rising to become president of Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector before being recruited in 2000 by AMD founderJerry Sanders to serve as AMD's president and chief operating officer, and to becomeheir apparent to lead the company upon Sanders' retirement. Ruiz succeeded Sanders in the CEO's seat in 2002, and was namedchairman of the board in 2004.
Ruiz endorsed the decision to buyATI, which led to a period of financial reverses. Ruiz survived rumors of his ouster in late 2007.[6][7] However, he resigned as CEO on July 18, 2008, after AMD reported its seventh consecutive quarterly loss.[8]
Ruiz took AMD "off death watch," according to a leading industry analyst.[9] As CEO, Ruiz led AMD to "important technical accomplishments and strides in its competition against Intel," but " he was never able to stanch the company's persistent financial losses." Analyst Rob Enderle gives Ruiz credit for the strategy to spin off the manufacturing operations, "relieving AMD of the cost of running chip plants and allowing more focus on chip design." Ruiz was behind the deal in which an Abu Dhabi government arm funded the new venture.[9]
According to the New York Times, "From about 2003 to 2006, A.M.D. offered a line of chips that analysts and many computer makers hailed as superior to Intel's products. Executives from A.M.D. contended that Intel blunted the adoption of these chips through its financial arrangements."[10]
In 2010, theFederal Trade Commission settled a number of anti-competition complaints against Intel.[11] Intel "accepted all the terms of the settlement without admitting that it had committed any anticompetitive acts."[10] In 2009, AMD "settled its own antitrust complaint against Intel in November with Intel agreeing to pay $1.25 billion."[10]
In February 2012, theAlbany Times Union looked back at the June 2006 announcement by Ruiz and then-current New York Governor George Pataki that AMD and then its spin-off GlobalFoundries "would be building the world's most advanced 'chip fab' on the planet." The news "vault[ed] the Capital Region into the global technology spotlight virtually overnight." Pataki said GlobalFoundries is likely to end up spending $7 billion and hiring 2,000 employees at the plant, with 9,000 additional jobs created as a result.[12]
Ruiz was named Chairman of AMD spin-offGlobalFoundries in March 2009.[13] He resigned concurrent with reports that identified Ruiz as the previously unnamed AMD executive who allegedly discussed AMD's plans for the spin-off with an investment manager before it had been publicly disclosed.[14] Ruiz has not been charged with any criminal activity.[9][15] "There were never any allegations made against me, no one from the government side or the Justice side have ever contacted me," Ruiz toldMarketWatch. Ruiz added that he even volunteered to speak with investigators. “They never took me up on it." Ruiz also said, "I strongly believe that I never have done anything wrong or inappropriate.”[16]
Traveling globally in 2010 as an adviser to technology companies, Ruiz commented on the rise of Brazil's tech economy in acolumn published in the Austin American-Statesman, saying "there seems to be a new sense of confidence among Brazilian business and political leaders [and] a growing realization that Brazil's time might, at last, be now."[17]
In July 2010EDCO Ventures, an economic development organization, added Hector Ruiz to its board of directors.[1]
Bloomberg News reported in June 2011 that Ruiz and another former AMD executive, Bharath Rangarajan, had formed a new consultancy called Bull Ventures. The company aims "to win business by touting his experience in leading strategy and transactions while at the chipmaker."[18]
In March 2013, Ruiz re-entered the public debates surrounding semiconductors and the information technology industry with a column published byBusinessWeek entitled,"AMD's Former CEO Has Advice for Intel's Next CEO."
In September 2015, the Mexican Consulate in Austin, Texas, announced that it would honor Dr. Hector Ruíz with its Ohtli Award.[19]
Ruiz supports a legal path to U.S. citizenship for undocumented or unauthorized immigrants, and criticizedMark Zuckerberg's high-skilled immigration lobby efforts as elitist.[20]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)No charges were filed against him
| Business positions | ||
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| Preceded by | CEO,AMD 2002–2008 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
