Tan Hock Eng (Chinese: 陳福陽; pinyin: Chén Fúyáng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Hok-iâng; born 1951 or 1952) is a Malaysian-born Chinese-American business executive. He is the CEO of Broadcom Inc. He was the highest-earning CEO in the US in 2017, earning US$103.2 million that year.[1]

Hock Tan
陳福陽
Born
Tan Hock Eng

1951 or 1952 (age 72–73)
NationalityAmerican
Education
OccupationBusiness executive
Years active1983–present
TitleCEO of Broadcom
Children3

Early life and education

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Tan was born in Penang, Malaysia, in 1951 or 1952.[2] He received a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1971. In 1975, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and earned a master's degree in the same subject later in the year.[3][4] Tan also attended Harvard University to earn an MBA a few years later.[2][5]

Career

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He was managing director of Hume Industries in Malaysia from 1983 to 1988 before helming Pacven Investment from 1988 to 1992. He then held financial positions at General Motors Co and PepsiCo Inc before becoming the Vice President of Finance of Commodore International Ltd.

Tan went on to become the CEO of Integrated Circuit Systems Inc. When this was sold to Integrated Device Technology Inc, he became the latter company's chairman.

Avago was created following a US$2.66 billion private equity buyout of the Semiconductor Products Group of Agilent Technologies in 2005. Tan was hired to lead this new company as chief executive.[6]

In 2015, Tan merged the company with Broadcom Corporation following an acquisition, leading to the creation of Broadcom Inc which he currently runs.

In November 2017 Broadcom announced that it had completed its move from Singapore back to the United States in a move which Tan claimed at the time would yield $20 billion yearly in revenue for the US Treasury.[7]

In April 2020 Tan drew criticism when it was announced that he was forcing employees of Broadcom to return to work for 1 week a month during the COVID-19 outbreak.[8] In September 2020, Tan stated that all Broadcom employees were working in the office in Asia excluding India, and 50% in North America.[9]

In 2023, Tan's total compensation from Broadcom was $161.8 million, up 167% from the previous year and representing a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 510-to-1 for the company, as well as making Tan the third highest paid CEO in the US that year.[10]

Since February 2024, he is a member of the board of directors of Meta.[11]

Personal life

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Tan became a U.S. citizen in 1990.[12] He married K. Lisa Yang.[13] Born in Singapore, Yang graduated from Cornell University.[13] After the family moved to the U.S., Yang worked as an investment banker on Wall Street until retiring.[2]

Their three children spent their early years in Singapore.[2] The family moved to Philadelphia after their son Douglas was diagnosed with autism by a pediatric neurologist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who suggested the boy would receive a better education in the U.S.[13] Douglas attended the Timothy School in Philadelphia, and now lives in a Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health group home.[13] Their daughter Eva has been diagnosed with a milder form of autism.[2] Yang helped Eva with her "poor auditory processing skills" when she started taking classes at Harcum College.[13] Eva was later hired by SAP under their Autism at Work program.[13] Their other son, who does not have autism, works as an investment banker in California.[13]

Philanthropy

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Tan and Yang donate money to their alma maters and autism charities.

In 2015, Tan honored former MIT professor Nam P. Suh by donating $4 million to the school to endow a mechanical engineering professorship.[14]

The same year, Tan and Yang donated $10 million to Cornell University to fund the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Employment and Disability Institute.[13]

Tan and Yang donated $20 million to MIT in 2017 to fund research to find effective treatments for autism and find its causes.[13] Their donation created the Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research.[13]

In 2019, Tan and Yang donated $20 million to Harvard Medical School to create the Tan-Yang Center for Autism Research, a sister of the MIT center.[15]

Yang donated $2 million in 2020 to Neurodiversity in the Workplace, a nonprofit organization that helps employers find talented people with autism.[16]

Tan and Yang donated $28 million in 2020 to MIT to create the Yang-Tan Center for Molecular Therapeutics in Neuroscience.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Who is the top-earning CEO in US? Malaysian Tan Hock Eng who picked up US$103.2 million in 2017". South China Morning Post. New Straits Times. May 17, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e Steele, Jeanette (2018-02-28). "Broadcom's CEO has fortune and business success, but autism touched his family". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  3. ^ "Behind Broadcom's move from Singapore to the US, a CEO who grew up as a 'skinny kid' in Penang". Today. November 3, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  4. ^ Shameen, Assif (November 30, 2017). "Cover Story: From skinny Penang boy to global tech leader". The Edge Markets. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  5. ^ Fong, Min Yuan (November 3, 2017). "Penang-born Tan behind US$100b company moving to US". The Star. Archived from the original on November 3, 2017.
  6. ^ Hock E. Tan: Executive Profile & Biography, Bloomberg
  7. ^ Schrodt, Paul (May 11, 2018). "Meet America's Highest-Paid CEO, a 66-Year-Old Immigrant From Malaysia Who Calls Himself a 'Frugal Guy'". Money. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  8. ^ "Broadcom CEO forcing non-essential employees back to work on April 27". Daily Kos. April 19, 2020.
  9. ^ Tan, Hock; Seymore, Ross (September 15, 2020). "Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) CEO Hock Tan Presents At Deutsche Bank 2020 Virtual Technology Conference Transcript". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  10. ^ Paradis, Tim (2024-06-18). "Here are the highest-paid CEOs in the US, some of whom have 9-figure compensation packages". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2024-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  11. ^ Vanian, Jonathan (2024-02-14). "Meta says Broadcom CEO Hock Tan is joining board of directors". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  12. ^ Hammond, Ed; King, Ian (March 15, 2018). "Mr. Tan Goes to Washington: The Undoing of a Tech Mega-Deal". Bloomberg News.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Burling, Stacey (February 9, 2017). "Main Line couple give millions to MIT for autism research". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  14. ^ Mallinson, Alissa (July 6, 2015). "Alumnus Hock Tan pledges $4 million gift for endowed chair in MechE". MIT News. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Jennings, Katie (September 15, 2020). "Broadcom CEO Donates $28 Million To MIT, Fueling Research For Brain Disorders". Forbes. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  16. ^ Riddle, Joseph (September 24, 2020). "Neurodiversity in the Workplace™ Receives $2 Million Dollar Endowment from Lisa Yang to Ensure Strong Future for Neurodiverse Hiring and Expanded Impact on Autistic Inclusion". Yahoo! (Press release). Neurodiversity in the Workplace. PR Newswire. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
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