BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : OCTOBER 2, 2000 ISSUE
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Hector de Jesus Ruiz BORN December 25, 1945, Piedras Negras, Mexico. EDUCATION Walked across the U.S. border daily to attend high school in Eagle Pass, Tex. Three years after starting to learn English, he graduated as valedictorian. Earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1968 and a PhD from Rice University in 1972. CAREER Six years at Texas Instruments and 22 at Motorola, overseeing worldwide manufacturing, worldwide research and development, paging, and semiconductors. Since February, 2000, has been president and COO of Advanced Micro Devices. VISION FOR AMD The 31-year-old company has never been more successful thanks to its inexpensive Athlon microprocessor. Ruiz plans to expand production capacity and move into the high end of the PC biz. BIGGEST SURPRISE IN NEW JOB How rough rival Intel plays. Ruiz says he's ''shocked'' by some of the chip giant's hardball tactics, such as pressuring customers not to buy from AMD. Intel denies wrongdoing. WORST PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Overhauling Motorola's semiconductor unit in 1997, including cutting 21,000 jobs and moving the headquarters from Phoenix to Austin. Got threatening letters from employees. The moves returned Motorola to growth. BIGGEST LIFE INFLUENCE Methodist missionary Olive Givin hired 15-year-old Ruiz to help around the house in exchange for English lessons, urged him to attend U.S. high school, then paid for his first year of college. Ruiz dedicated his PhD dissertation to her. CULTURAL IDENTITY Became a U.S. citizen in 1975 and identifies himself as a Texan. Still prefers Mexican food--especially rich mole sauce. Elected this year to the U.S. Hispanic Engineers Hall of Fame. Speaks frequently to business and youth groups to encourage Hispanics to enter engineering. PERSONAL VALUES Having experienced discrimination, Ruiz aims to ''treat people with the utmost dignity.'' His leadership style is tough but respectful. ''I will never, ever belittle an individual. You can be a successful business leader without being an a------.'' FAMILY Widowed at 29. Married wife Judy 24 years ago. Son, Hector, now 28, from his first marriage, and Judy's two children, Joanie, 35, and Greg, 28. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Meet AMD's Rags-to-Riches Heir Apparent CHART: Advanced Micro Devices Is Gaining Market Share... RESUME: Hector de Jesus Ruiz INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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