Ann S. Bowers

Ann S. Bowers was a technology executive and philanthropist best known as Intel’s first director of personnel, Apple’s first vice president of human resources, and the benefactor whose gift established Cornell’s Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.

Born in Pennsylvania, Bowers grew up in Oakmont and graduated from Cornell University in 1959. Before joining Intel, she worked as a management trainee at Macy’s, led personnel at a small technology company, and taught in San Jose.

Bowers led human resources at Intel during the 1970s. After leaving the company, she established a human resources consulting firm; Apple was among her early clients, and she subsequently joined the company as a vice president in 1980.

She was chair and co-founding trustee of the Noyce Foundation, established in 1990 in memory of her late husband, Intel co-founder Robert Noyce. The foundation focused on improving mathematics and science education in public schools. Her gifts to Cornell totaled more than $100 million over three decades, supporting buildings, faculty positions, and student scholarships. She also served as a Cornell trustee and chaired its Silicon Valley advisers for more than a decade.

Bowers died at her home in Palo Alto, California, aged 86.