Ding-Hua Hu

A key contributor to Taiwan's rise as a global power in the semiconductor industry, Hu's career has spanned academia, government, industry, and venture capital. Born in Chengdu City of Sichuan Province, his family moved to Taiwan when he was a small child. He grew up in Taipei, entering the Junior High Division of the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University in 1953, at the age of 11 years. He graduated from senior high school in 1959.

He attended National Taiwan University and received his Master's E.E. degree from National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) in Hsinchu. Hu then went on to earn a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering at the University of Missouri in the United States. Upon graduating, he returned to Taiwan to take a teaching position at NCTU, one of Taiwan's leading engineering schools.

He has served as a Professor at Chiao-tung University, Associate Director of the Industrial Technology and Research Institute (ITRI), and the first General Director of the Electronic Research and Services Organization (ERSO). Hu has also served as CEO of H&Q in Taiwan, Chairman of Macronix, Chairman of the Taiwan Venture Capital Association, and Chairman of Chien Kung V.C. Corp., Alpha V.C. Fund, Inc., and Chien Cheng V.C. Corp. As a result, he has many former students based in Silicon Valley and a well-developed personal network and reputation in the technology communities in both Silicon Valley and Taiwan.

As President of Hambrecht & Quist Taiwan in the 1980s, Hu helped launch the venture-capital industry in Taiwan, fueling the boom in the high-tech industry. He also founded his own venture capital firm, Chien Kung Venture Capital Corporation.