AMD CEO Lisa Su shares the advice from an IBM executive that convinced her to join a struggling company: ‘I was …’

AMD CEO Lisa Su revealed the piece of career advice she received as a young engineer at IBM that went on to shape her leadership style and career decisions. Speaking about her early years in the technology industry (via Benzinga), Su said an IBM executive encouraged her to stop avoiding difficult challenges and instead focus on solving the toughest problems. The advice stayed with her throughout her career and later influenced her decision to join AMD at a time when the chipmaker was struggling and facing questions about its future.

IBM advice that stayed with AMD CEO Lisa Su

Lisa Su said IBM executive John Kelly gave her advice that she still follows today. "I was given a piece of advice when I was a young engineer at IBM that has really stuck with me. Someone told me, 'You should run toward problems,'" Su recalled in a profile published by Austin Woman.


She added: "If you're going to work on something, work on something that's really important."


Lisa Su later expanded on the lesson during a commencement speech at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in May 2025. She said Kelly encouraged her to "run towards the hardest problems" because that is where people find opportunities, learn the fastest and grow the most.

Decision to join AMD

According to Lisa Su, that mindset played a role in her decision to join AMD in 2012. At the time, AMD was facing significant challenges and had fallen behind competitors in several areas. Despite those difficulties, Su said she saw an opportunity.


"When I joined, it was clear the company had a mixed track record. But I saw the potential, the people, the vision and the opportunity to help lead a company that mattered … It was actually my dream job," she said.


Lisa Su became AMD's president and CEO in 2014 and later its chair. Before joining AMD, Su worked at Texas Instruments, IBM and Freescale Semiconductor. Born in Taiwan, she moved to the United States as a child and later earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.