It came as a great surprise to many as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in Meta’s latest press release that he is welcoming new faces to his board of directors. Meta announced that Malaysian businessman Tan Hock Eng, born in Penang and serving as the president and CEO of Broadcom since 2006, has secured a spot on Zuckerberg’s board.
In a statement, Tan expressed his anticipation to work with Mark, the broader team, and other board members on Meta’s technology and business journey.
Zuckerberg wrote in a post on his Facebook page that the addition of new board members will assist the company in achieving its long-term objectives.
“As we focus on building AGI (artificial general intelligence), having directors with deep expertise in silicon and energy infrastructure will help us execute our long-term vision.”
“Hock is the CEO of Broadcom, which he has built into one of the leading semiconductor companies in the world. I got to know him as he informally advised me and the Meta team on our year of efficiency,” Zuckerberg wrote.
Here are some facts about Penang-born businessman Tan Hock Eng:
Tan grew up in Penang
Tan Hock Eng was born in Penang around 1951 or 1952. He received a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1971 pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
He earned an MBA from Harvard
With his MBA, Tan secured a position as Managing Director of Hume Industries in Malaysia from 1983 to 1988 before heading Pacven Investment from 1988 to 1992.
He then held financial positions at General Motors Co and PepsiCo Inc before being appointed as the Vice President of Finance at Commodore International Ltd.
As the CEO of Broadcom, Tan moved from Singapore to the United States
Tan eventually became the president and CEO of Integrated Circuit Systems from June 1999 to September 2005. Subsequently, from September 2005 to January 2008, he served as the chairman of the board of Integrated Device Technology.
Sometime around March 2006, Tan assumed the roles of President, CEO, and Director of Broadcom. Under his leadership, Tan relocated Broadcom from Singapore to the United States in 2017. He earned US$103.2 million (RM493.35 million) that year, earning him the title of the highest-earning CEO of 2017
Tan and his wife generously donate money to autism charities
Tan Son Douglas was diagnosed with autism, and his daughter Eva has also been diagnosed with a milder form of autism. This personal experience led Tan and his wife to generously donate to disability institutes and autism research.
The couple donated US$10 million to Cornell University to fund the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Employment and Disability Institute. They also donated US$20 million to MIT in 2017 to fund research to find effective treatments for autism and determine its causes. Their donation created the Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research.
Later in 2019, Tan donated US$20 million to Harvard Medical School to create the Tan-Yang Center for Autism Research, a sister of the MIT Center.
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