Christine King
Chris King was a 20-year-old, poor, single mother with a high school diploma and few prospects in 1970. Incredibly, she would go on to become the World’s first female CEO of a semiconductor company. Leveraging her innate capabilities, principles, passion, and grit, Ms. King earned associate and bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering technology and landed a position at IBM where she rose through the ranks and built multiple billion-dollar businesses before being named President and CEO at AMI Semiconductor in 2001. Following AMI Semiconductor’s successful sale to ON Semiconductor in 2008, Ms. King was appointed President and CEO of Standard Microsystems and subsequently Executive Chairman of QLogic Corporation.
Chris King’s quarter-century IBM career spanned roles in engineering, sales, and business management, taking on increasing levels of responsibility and leadership during her tenure. Earlier in her career, Chris exercised her entrepreneurial muscles by launching her own business, Expedition Electronics, focused on automating the operation of everything from manufacturing lines to medical devices. She fine-tuned the customer focus that defined her entire career by working as an applications engineer for ProLog.
Outside of the world of technology, Chris has tackled the worlds of dairy farming and the equestrian sport of cow cutting with equal vigor. Never one to go into something half-heartedly, Chris has achieved championship status in both dairy cow showmanship and cow cutting competitions. Her avocational interests are featured in the interlude and postlude chapters of "Breaking Through the Silicon Ceiling: How a 20-year-old, single mother rose to become the world’s first female CEO of a semiconductor company."
Chris earned two associates degrees in Electrical Engineering Technology and the Arts from Orange County Community College. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She earned a 4.0 GPA in all of her engineering courses.
Today, Chris remains an active member on multinational company boards of directors and continues to compete as a champion equestrian.
