Hector de J. Ruiz

Hector de Jesus Ruiz (born December 25, 1945) is the executive chairman and former CEO of semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). Ruiz was born in the border town of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. As a teenager, he walked across the Mexico – United States border every day to attend a high school in nearby Eagle Pass, Texas, from which he graduated as valedictorian just three years after beginning to learn English. Ruiz earned... more

Hector de Jesus Ruiz (born December 25, 1945) is the executive chairman and former CEO of semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). Ruiz was born in the border town of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. As a teenager, he walked across the Mexico – United States border every day to attend a high school in nearby Eagle Pass, Texas, from which he graduated as valedictorian just three years after beginning to learn English. Ruiz earned a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1968 and 1970 respectively and a Ph.D. from Rice University in 1973. Ruiz worked at Texas Instruments for six years and Motorola for 22 years, rising to become president of Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector before being recruited in 2000 by AMD founder Jerry Sanders to serve as AMD's president and chief operating officer, and to become heir apparent to lead the company upon Sanders' retirement. Ruiz succeeded Sanders in the CEO's seat in 2002, and was... less