Zhang Zhongmou

Zhang Zhongmou, Taiwanese semiconductor entrepreneur, first chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing , was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, and grew up in the Republic of China and British Hong Kong. He has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He has served as the president and chairman of the Industrial Technology Research Institute and chairman of UMC and World Advanced Integrated Circuits. He has won the IEEE Medal of Honor and was listed in the Zhejiang Merchants Hall of Fame by the Zhejiang Gongshang University Zhejiang Merchants Museum. He is the first entrepreneur in the world to engage in foundry and is known as the "Godfather of Semiconductors." From 2006 to 2023, he served as the APEC Chinese Taipei leader representative. Among Taiwan's 50 richest people announced by Forbes in 2020, Zhang Zhongmou's assets are US$1.5 billion, ranking 28th.