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在2020年美國半導體行業協會(Semiconductor Industry Association,下稱SIA)的領導力論壇及頒獎典禮上,AMD執行長蘇姿豐正式接過獎盃,成為羅伯特·N·諾伊斯獎(Robert N.Noyce)歷史上第一位女性華裔獲獎者。
在獲獎演講中,蘇姿豐也提到,本次獲獎不僅代表個人的榮譽,也象徵AMD近些年來的進步,以及少數族裔在半導體等前沿領域不可忽視的卓越貢獻。
提到AMD,很多人都知道它是一家半導體領域的科技企業,主要產品有筆記本CPU、顯示卡等。消費者圈內流行的“AMD YES”,這句話剛好反映了AMD如今的勢頭。特別是在去年的筆記本消費市場,AMD可以說是打了一個翻身仗。
在被英特爾(Intel)和英偉達(Nvidia)蠶食市場份額多年後,AMD近年的市場份額迎來了回升,多款搭載AMD核心的筆記型電腦產品獲得了市場了的認可。總之一個詞,直接yes就對了,但你能想象的到嗎?讓AMD能yes起來的人,卻是一個女人,半導體領域的首位女CEO、世界上薪酬最高的華人總裁——蘇姿豐(Lisa Su)!

2019年,美聯社公佈的標普500上市公司薪酬榜,這位AMD的華裔CEO蘇姿豐憑藉5850萬美元的年薪實力霸榜。她名列《彭博》2019年度風雲榜“彭博50”大關。《財富》盛讚她是“AMD真正需要的變革家”。
這些加諸於她的盛名,其實源自於蘇姿豐“不甲意輸”的感覺,她曾在受訪時表示“I love to win!”而能在業界一直領先的原因,是她勇於接受挑戰、找出解決方法克服困難,並從中創造自我價值的性格。
熟悉她的人都知道,蘇媽對AMD恩同再造。那麼粉絲眼中的「蘇媽」到底是如何受命於危難,讓AMD一路成為AMD Yes的呢?

How Lisa Su
Turned Around AMD
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Before Lisa Su became AMD’s (Advanced Micro Devices) first female CEO, before she led the company to 25% revenue growth to $5.33 billion in 2017 (marking its first full year of profitability), the nearly 50-year-old tech company best known for manufacturing microprocessors had hit a significant rough patch.
“WE WERE LOSING MONEY LIKE CRAZY”
Su, who holds a PhD in electrical engineering from MIT, came to AMD from IBM in January 2012 as senior vice president and general manager of the company’s global business units.
That year, AMD lost over $1 billion, which wiped out its previous two years profits. By the end of that year, AMD had cut 15% of its workforce, prompting one analyst to pronounce the company “uninvestable.” As it continued to burn through cash, competitors like Intel, Qualcomm, and Nvidia gobbled up its market share.
Undaunted by the challenge, Su began to slowly change the game first as SVP, then COO, and ultimately taking the helm as CEO from Rory Read in 2014. The scenario could have unfolded with Su shattering that glass ceiling, only to get the boot over the glass cliff, like other female CEOs who try to salvage a sinking ship.
Su, a self-professed pragmatist, focused on what she knows how to do best: solve problems. “I’ll figure out how to bring people together or experiment to narrow down to get an answer,” she says.
“When I first took over, there was a desire from HR and the communications team to put together a mission, vision, and value statement,” she recalls, “and I was thinking at the time we are losing money like crazy.” Su says to do that would have taken six months that the company couldn’t afford to spend. So instead, she drafted a memo delivered at her first all-hands meeting that outlined three objectives: “To build great products, deepen customer relationships, and simplify everything we do.”
Her memo also acknowledged that the staff would be asking what would change in order to meet these priorities. In turn, Su insisted that the strategy set in motion before she took over would remain, and the focus would be on those three points.
“That seems to have really resonated,” Su muses, recalling that she saw those priorities recorded in a photo of one of the office whiteboards six or nine months later. The simplicity of the message stuck more than if she’d written a 10-point value statement, Su contends.
BECOMING A BETTER LEADER
But Su admits she wasn’t always this accomplished at setting a vision and motivating teams, much less a global workforce of around 10,000 people. At IBM, the first engineering group she managed was a diverse team of 10 people when she was in her late 20s. “My personal motivation was purely around the project,” she remembers. At the time, Su’s boss asked her how it was going and if she was talking to her people. “I thought that was such a strange question,” confesses Su. She says she never expected anyone to talk to her about anything but the work to be done, and assumed everyone should be treated that way. It was a good management lesson, she says, to understand that she had to talk to her team and learn what made them tick.
Su also credits IBM’s management training programs as a key factor in getting her to be a better leader, not just of projects, but of people. But she also gives a nod to her mother, an entrepreneur who made the decision to start a business when Su and her brother were still in junior high school. Watching the decision making that went into taking a bootstrapped startup importing baskets from their native Taiwan and building it into a multimillion-dollar business that she continues to run today was an education in passion and perseverance.
These lessons permeate Su’s management style as she has gone from managing smaller teams and figuring out how individuals think in order to motivate them to oversee a large, global organization. Over the years, she says, one thing keeps coming back. “Clarity of communication is important,” she maintains, in order to get everyone aligned to a goal.
That’s why she keeps an open-door policy, although she’s quick to point out that with a workforce in multiple countries that is more like an open IM. “I am sometimes surprised who will IM me,” she says, noting that it is not just the executives who message her freely. “I can’t say I’m 100% responsive, but 80% [of the time] I will respond or ask one of my staff to respond.” Su insists she’s gotten good feedback this way, especially since things tend to get filtered out at large organizations. Those at lower levels and from outside the company have offered her new insight into the way things are working, or not.
“One of the most important things for a CEO is not to get insulated,” says Su. That’s why you’ll find her talking to her staff, seeing customers, and even frequently reading what’s said about AMD’s products on Reddit and other forums.
And while she’s convinced AMD’s current success is product driven, Su also concedes that its people are largely responsible for making those products excel. The Austin-based company has poached engineers from the likes of Silicon Valley’s A-list, in part through word of mouth. Su says AMD’s culture of staying true to what they are trying to achieve is very important for recruiting top talent. “We are significantly smaller [than our competitors], so we are fighting a big fight,” she says. “So if you are attracted to a very stable, easygoing job, this is not that.” Su says AMD attracts people who “want to take a risk, do something very special in the industry, and fight the battle with less resources and more freedom.” She believes it, and that’s what she consistently relays to her staff. “You are going to learn a ton and make a big impact,” she adds,” because it is a very competitive environment, and we are trying to operate at the highest level of tech.”
Su believes AMD’s culture is one of learning. Motivating her people to do better each quarter is what she accomplishes through her 5% rule. “I use that figuratively,” she points out, because 50% sounds like asking for the impossible. The incremental, “just a little better the next time,” has taken AMD from the brink back to profitability. This year, the company is on track to grow into PC and datacenter markets as well as high-end graphics and games. Su says simply, “I’ve been pleased to have that [5% better] become ingrained.”

眾所皆知,蘇姿豐出生於臺南大家族,父母都是臺灣人,她3歲時隨父母親移民到美國紐約。在傳統華人家庭中增長,蘇姿豐揹負著長輩“望子成龍、望女成鳳”的期待,爸爸也希望她可以功成名就。
父親蘇春槐是一名統計學家、母親羅淑雅則是會計師,耳濡目染下,她自小就習得科學教育與商業訓練。蘇春槐回憶起兒時的蘇姿豐,相較於玩洋娃娃,她更喜歡“拆玩具”,經常把各種汽車玩具分解。在蘇春槐眼裡,他看到了女兒的不同,也鼓勵她盡情地拆解、探索跟學習。
蘇姿豐曾感性地表示,她的父親用相同的標準教育她跟哥哥,這也表示她能擁有相同的高標準來衡量自我表現,不因她是女生而有所不同,所以她自小就立下了成為工程師的志向。

跟頂尖同儕一起增長,她學會:比起聰明,更要會解決問題
步入校園、談起中小學的表現,蘇姿豐笑說她只能算是表現得不差、但稱不上是頂尖的人物。高中她選擇就讀在紐約素有“物理學家搖籃”之稱的布朗克斯科學高中(Bronx High School of Science),該校曾有7位校友獲得諾貝爾物理學獎、1位獲得諾貝爾化學獎。
在這裡,同學精銳盡出,蘇姿豐被燃起了鬥志,激發她在數學跟科學領域上追求更卓越的表現,她說“競爭能使我變得更好”。這個時期的學習,也讓蘇姿豐順利進入麻省理工學院(MIT)主攻電機工程學科,因為她認為這門學科是最困難的。
回憶起在MIT的求學過程,蘇姿豐認為這是塑造她人格特質的重要階段,也就是在這個時候,她發現她愛上了半導體。這麼微小的東西,竟然如此強大、富有創造力,而且是她能以一己之力完成的產品;同時,她也在半導體實驗室裡悟出了一個道理:她可以不用是最聰明的,但她必須成為能解決問題的人。唯有如此,才能凸顯她的價值與不同。
帶著這樣的信念,蘇姿豐在24歲時取得了MIT電機博士學位,並投入職場,繼續發揮她擅於解決棘手問題的能力。
跟團隊一起突破困境,她深知:每次進步5%,比50%更好
在IBM工作時,蘇姿豐有段時間負責研發銅晶片的製程,當時市場上的晶片多半以鋁導線為主,但她獨排眾議、主張以銅來取代鋁導線,這是因為銅的電阻係數要比鋁低3倍,而電阻係數低,可以降低電流動所導致的原子流失。
過去棄銅而選擇鋁,是因為銅製程的技術尚未成熟,她要如何突破?憑著求學時期塑造出解決問題的能力,蘇姿豐帶領團隊以SOI(絕緣層上覆矽)技術突破瓶頸,這不僅解決製程時可能產生的汙染,也較傳統晶片的效能快了近2成。
此外,蘇姿豐因促成一個重大合作專案而被稱作“Video Game Technology Queen(遊戲女王)”。
當時她獲得了在IBM內部創業的機會,並與索尼及東芝合作,設計出“Cell微處理器(Cell Chip)”,用於PS3的遊戲主機裡,滿足了當時有“PlayStation遊戲機之父”稱號的久多良木健,亟欲想突破PS2遊戲主機的野心。
蘇姿豐當時提出的概念是用多顆處理器共同運算,在費盡心力完成產品開發後,發現竟然是索尼PS2效能表現的1,000倍,還可同時處理3D圖片跟音效,讓眾人大為驚豔。

比起制定高增長的目標,蘇姿豐(中)認為,5%的進步幅度對團隊更有建設性。
2012年,蘇姿豐加入AMD、並在2014年成為CEO,面對已經失落10年的AMD,她提出了“5%Rules”,來鼓勵團隊持續前進。蘇姿豐解釋,“訂出50%的增長幅度,聽起來雖好,卻像是在追求一個不可能的任務;如果是5%進步挑戰,對團隊反而比較有建設性。”
華爾街知名部落格Farnam Street的作者Shane Parrish也認同這樣的目標策略,他進一步指出,關鍵不在於要精確地完成5%目標,而是要確保個人或企業都能保持前進的動能。
這也恰好證明了自蘇姿豐執掌AMD以來,她並不是在第一年就把AMD由黑翻紅,而是專注選好題目、規劃產品,讓AMD走了3年才終止虧損。
她認為,AMD的文化是“學習的文化”。從錯誤其中吸取經驗,不僅能讓員工自主學習,也能從“比上一次更好”的期盼來自我開發。也因此,AMD可以提供比上次更好一點的服務給客戶、開發比上一次效能更好一些的產品,而當這些比上一次進步一點的東西都拼湊在一起後,“就是現在你現在見到的AMD了。”
確立了組織前進的法則,接著是方向。
蘇姿豐在2019年接受媒體訪問時,回頭看自己2014年的決策表示,AMD的強項是PC機、筆記本、資料中心的中央處理器跟計算機與遊戲主機的顯示晶片,即便當時市場風向正吹往手機、平板電腦,她仍選擇鞏固AMD的核心優勢。
所以她開始著手進行產品的佈局。以Zen架構為基礎,畫出了包括Ryzen系列桌上型電腦處理器,以及EPYC系列伺服器處理器的藍圖,而且在ZEN架構第一代採用格芯(GlobalFoundries)的製程後,立刻轉向臺積電的懷抱,讓ZEN 2架構採用7納米制程。
就在競爭對手英特爾在製程泥淖裡無法突破之際,AMD靠著臺積電的加持,在去年臺北國際計算機展(COMPUTEX)上大放異彩。

曾任職於德州儀器(Texas Instruments)、IBM、飛思卡爾半導體公司,蘇姿豐於2012年加入超微(AMD),兩年後憑著過人的領導決策、對半導體產業的專業洞察,升任AMD總裁兼執行長。
成功轉向投入臺積電懷抱,對AMD乃至於蘇姿豐而言,都是個關鍵的決定。由於當時AMD跟格芯簽有合約,但格芯的製程技術未有起色,導致AMD面臨新品量產競爭力困局,若無法將兩者的關係斬斷,AMD將難以從泥沼脫身。
對於蘇姿豐棄車保帥的決斷,宏碁董事長陳俊聖大力讚譽,他認為,蘇姿豐認清要轉單到臺積電,必須承擔風險,而她也必須得到董事會的支援,讓AMD斷開與格芯的束縛,使有賺錢能力的AMD尋找其他代工支援。事後也證明,蘇姿豐不僅有做決定的果斷、開發產品的能力,能讓董事會點頭的說服力自然也不在話下。
擁有了技術上的支援,蘇姿豐也清晰設定戰場,她手下每個產品都有明確的目標。根據市調機構Mercury Research統計,X86 CPU在2020年第2季的市場佔有率來到18.3%,這是AMD自2013年第4季以來的最佳表現。雖然距離競爭對手英特爾仍有一段差距,但顯見以Zen架構為主的產品已經完全扭轉過去Bulldozer架構的頹勢。

AMD在COMPUTEX 2019舉行CEO Keynote,邀請臺灣供應鏈上臺合影。
勇闖矽谷登半導體女王,她提醒:永遠不要忘了做夢、冒險
蘇姿豐一路在人才濟濟的矽谷科技圈中,過關斬將突破天花板,完成華人女性最好的成績,背後支援的信念,或許可以從2017年蘇姿豐回到母校MIT所釋出的一場12分鐘演說中略窺一二。
首先,她鼓勵學弟妹將夢想做大(Dream Big)。她認為,不要小看自己改變世界的潛能,因為MIT已把大家訓練成善於解決問題的人。
其次,不要害怕冒險,並保有學習的熱忱跟吸取教訓的心。如同在實驗室般,當結果不如預期,研究員必須找出問題並調整,在職場上也一樣,如此一來才能成為獨當一面的領導者。
最重要的是,主動創造自己的運氣(Luck)。她認為,成功需要一些運氣,但運氣並非從天而降,而是可以從挑戰最棘手的問題來替自己創造。當你可以解決非常困難的問題時,同時也為自己建立了一道護城河,自然比其他人更加幸運。

2019年,相較Intel渡過50歲生日時,面臨8個月群龍無首的狀態,AMD則有蘇姿豐的強勢領軍,戲劇性地威脅到Intel在CPU(中央處理器)市場50年來的主導地位,成為該年表現最佳的半導體股票。
在外界最不看好AMD的時候,蘇姿豐接下這個燙手山芋,重整品牌;當競爭對手英特爾、NVIDIA(英偉達)四面環伺的時候,她看好AMD擁有稱霸高效能計算(HPC)市場的設計能力,協同臺積電的先進製程推出一系列產品搶市,更喊出AMD要做市場制定遊戲規則的人。
如今AMD股價已經在她手上增長超過4,300%,這一切都證明了蘇姿豐是如何用沉著與解決問題的能力,帶領公司一步步前進。
當蘇姿豐上任5年,被問到AMD的表現與下一步時,她說的留有餘地地表示,這幾年的表現只是開端、好戲還在後頭。對她而言,沒有難倒她的挑戰,如同高中時遇上勁敵一般,競爭將燃起她的鬥志,而拆解問題更是她樂此不疲的事,她是蘇姿豐、當今地表最強悍的女性CEO。
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