Leslie L. Vadász (born Vadász László; born September 12, 1936, in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian [1] [2]- American engineer and manager, one of the founding members of Intel Corporation. [3]
Early life and education
Vadász was born in Budapest to Jewish parents. [4] In 1944, his family was incarcerated in the city's ghetto, where they miraculously survived. [4] In his hometown, Budapest, Vadász developed an early interest in mathematics and literature. [5] After the 1956 Hungarian revolution, he emigrated to Canada. [6] He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from McGill University in Montreal (1961) and attended the six-week Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard University (1990). [7]
Career
Vadász moved to the United States in 1961 [8] first working at Transitron Corporation (1961–1964, R&D) and then at Fairchild Semiconductor International (1964–1968, R&D) where he helped develop the silicon gate process. [3] [9]
Robert Noyce, and Gordon Moore, his colleagues at Fairchild Semiconductor founded the Intel Corporation in 1968. [10] [11] When the company was founded, Vadász and the also Hungarian Gróf András ( Andrew Grove), who took him with him to the new company, they became the company's third and fourth (first non-owner) employees. [12] Vadász, who used to be once the fourth employee of the world-renowned global semiconductor corporation, retired in 2003 as Executive Vice President of the company. [5]
Vadász was the head of the MOS design department where the first microprocessor, [13] the Intel 4004 [11] was developed and led the development of the first highly integrated dynamic RAM and first EPROM chips within the company. [3]
Vadász founded the Intel Capital venture capital firm in 1991, and remained president until he retired in 2003. [13] Since its establishment, the strategic investment firm has paved the way for more than a thousand companies in more than thirty countries around the world. Following his retirement, he remained an Emeritus member of Intel's board of directors. [13]
When announcing Vadász's retirement in 2003, Intel CEO Craig Barrett said: "[Les Vadász] is an engineering engineer who has a great sense of where the industry is headed and where we need to be to succeed. Intel's leadership in the semiconductor industry is largely due to Les Vadász' achievements. " [8]
References
- ^ "Intel VP". The Budapest Sun. 2000-02-03. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
- ^ "Les Vadász". Harvard Business School Alumni Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
- ^ a b c "Internet Law Program". Harvard Law School. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
- ^ a b Hargittai, István; Hargittai, Balazs (2023). Brilliance in Exile: The Diaspora of Hungarian Scientists from John von Neumann to Katalin Karikó. Budapest: Central European University Press. p. 256. ISBN 978-963-386-625-2.
- ^ a b "Oral history interview with Leslie L. Vadasz". Science History Institute Digital Collections. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
- ^ "Behind the Curtain". Science History Institute. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
- ^ Leslie Vadasz: Executive Profile & Biography - BusinessWeek[ dead link]
- ^ a b "Visszavonul Leslie Vadász, az Intel úttörője" (in Hungarian). SG Computer and Science Magazine. 19 April 2003. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
- ^ "Leslie L. Vadasz | Science History Institute | Center for Oral History". oh.sciencehistory.org. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
- ^ Mihály, Dr Sipos. "Elektronet Online - 75 éves az Intel alapítója, Andrew Growe azaz Gróf András". www.elektro-net.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2020-02-26.
- ^ a b "Faculty". cyber.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
- ^ Gaither, Chris (2001-11-12). "Andy Grove's Tale of His Boyhood in Wartime". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
- ^ a b c "A Pioneer at Intel Will Retire June 1". The New York Times. 2003-04-19. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
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- 1936 births
- Living people
- Engineers from Budapest
- Hungarian electrical engineers
- Hungarian emigrants to the United States
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- McGill University Faculty of Engineering alumni
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