After appointing Marvell Technology Inc. (MRVL) CFO Jean Hu, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) became the first major U.S. firm to hire an Asian-American woman as CEO and CFO at the same time.
AMD is headed by Lisa Su, who serves as both CEO and chair, prompting MarketWatch to wonder if any other S&P 500 company has had Asian or Asian-American women in those two key positions at the same time. DiversIQ, a source of diversity, equality, and inclusion data for public firms, provided the most solid response.
“Having an Asian woman CEO is certainly rare for the S&P 500, and having that and an Asian woman CFO is one of a kind!” DiversIQ representative Blake Eastman told MarketWatch in an email. “We’re very confident about that.”
Hu will start on Jan. 23 to replace the retiring Devinder Kumar, who will stay at AMD until April to facilitate a smooth transfer.
According to recent research, less than 10% of S&P 500 index businesses are led by women. However, Fortune last week revealed that for the first time, the percentage of female CEOs on its Fortune 500 list exceeded 10%.
Here’s to the amazing Asian women at AMD making history as executives!
