Che-Chia Wei (; born 1953) is a Taiwanese business executive and

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

who is the president, chairman, and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC or Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is one of the world's most valuable semiconductor companies, the world' ...

(TSMC).

Early life and education

Wei was born in the township of Lugu in

Nantou County Nantou is the second largest County (Taiwan), county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya people, Hoanya Taiwanese aborigines, Taiwanese ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, in 1953. When he was in elementary school, Wei's family moved to

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

, where he eventually graduated from Taichung Municipal Taichung First Senior High School. Wei graduated from

National Chiao Tung University National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) was a public research university in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Established in 1896 as Nanyang Public School by an imperial edict of the Guangxu Emperor, it was one of China's leading universities. After the Chinese ...

with his bachelor's degree and master's degree in electrical engineering, then completed graduate studies in the United States at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1985 from the

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences The Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is the graduate school of Yale University. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest graduate school in North America, and was the first North American graduate school to confer a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D ...

. His doctoral dissertation was titled, "RF Plasma Damage in MOS Structures," and was completed under the supervision of professor Tso-Ping Ma.

Career

After receiving his doctorate, Wei worked as a technical officer for

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...

and as a senior vice president for technology at

STMicroelectronics STMicroelectronics Naamloze vennootschap, NV (commonly referred to as ST or STMicro) is a European multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the largest of such companies in Europe. ...

and Charter Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. On February 2, 1998, he was named as a vice-president of TSMC. He became the company's CEO in 2018 and succeeded Mark Liu as TSMC's chairman in June 2024. He has been a member of the TSMC

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

since 2017. He is also a fellow of the

Industrial Technology Research Institute The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI; ) is a technology research and development institution in Taiwan. It was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Hsinchu, Hsinchu City, Taiwan, with branch offices in the United States, U.S., ...

. In September 2024, Wei was named by ''Time'' magazine in September 2024 as one of the 100 most influential people in

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

Awards and honors

In 2022, Yale University awarded Wei its Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal for "outstanding work in scholarship, public service, teaching, or academic administration".

Personal life

Wei is married to Jessica N. Wei.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wei, C. C. Taiwanese manufacturing businesspeople Taiwanese expatriates in the United States Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Living people People from Nantou County National Chiao Tung University alumni 21st-century Taiwanese engineers Businesspeople in electronics