# Private Car Collection: Onsemi CEO on Driving into the Future

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whzZ-7qovd8

[00:00] On a bit personal, we're getting to know
[00:02] a leader who is enabling one of the most
[00:04] important technology transitions of our
[00:06] time. Electric vehicles, renewable
[00:08] energy, AI data centers, and the global
[00:11] race to build smarter, more efficient
[00:13] ships.
[00:14] Hassane El-Khoury is the CEO of Onsemi,
[00:17] a company that has become one of the
[00:19] most important players in intelligent
[00:21] power and sensing technologies.
[00:23] The chips his company builds are the
[00:25] ones that make electric cars go further,
[00:28] solar systems work smarter, and
[00:30] industrial machines operate more
[00:32] efficiently.
[00:34] But the story of Hassane El-Khoury isn't
[00:36] just about semiconductors.
[00:38] It's about reinvention. When he took
[00:41] over, first as the CEO of Cypress in
[00:43] 2016, and then Onsemi in 2020, he made
[00:47] dramatic strategic pivots. At Onsemi, he
[00:50] shed legacy businesses, doubled down on
[00:52] automotive and industrial, transforming
[00:55] the company into a leader in silicon
[00:57] carbide technology, the material that's
[00:59] helping power the electric revolution.
[01:02] And he did it during one of the most
[01:04] turbulent periods the semiconductor
[01:06] industry has ever experienced. Supply
[01:08] chain crisis, geopolitical tensions, and
[01:11] a global race for chip dominance.
[01:14] But what makes Hassane particularly
[01:16] interesting is his unique story, and of
[01:19] course his cars. In this episode, we'll
[01:21] explore the person behind the
[01:23] transformation, what drives him, how he
[01:25] makes decisions in moments of
[01:27] uncertainty, and what it takes to
[01:29] reshape a company with tens of thousands
[01:32] of employees, and what his favorite car
[01:34] is.
[01:41] [music]
[01:43] Hassane, thank you for having me and
[01:45] being my guest on A Bit Personal. Yeah,
[01:47] I know this is this is great. And this
[01:49] is the best venue ever.
[01:51] Okay, so so I remember when we were in
[01:55] Napa a few years ago and you were
[01:57] telling me that you had a little bit of
[01:59] a car obsession. And that maybe during
[02:01] COVID you have to have intervention or
[02:03] something. And so
[02:05] Okay, I understand now. I understand
[02:07] this obsession. It's a little bit more
[02:09] than an obsession some days.
[02:10] So tell me So tell me about where kind
[02:13] of this passion for cars came from, and
[02:15] then maybe point out a few of your
[02:17] favorites. And I know that we get to do
[02:18] a little tour. Yeah, yeah. I'll We'll
[02:20] walk around. I'll show you some of them.
[02:22] So obsession with cars. Well, it didn't
[02:24] start as an obsession. It started as a
[02:27] dream.
[02:29] So I grew up in Lebanon.
[02:31] I remember I was 12 years old.
[02:33] I watched the movie Bullitt, Steve
[02:34] McQueen. You know, the car, the famous
[02:36] car
[02:38] chase in San Francisco. And what car was
[02:40] that?
[02:41] It was a Mustang. Okay.
[02:42] And from that moment, you know, we
[02:44] didn't have internet. I had no idea what
[02:46] the car is. I had no idea what any of
[02:48] this stuff was, but it was this dreamy
[02:50] faraway land that has these cars and
[02:52] these car chases. And from that moment,
[02:55] it was like it was unattainable when I
[02:57] was 12,
[02:59] but in the back of my mind, I'm like
[03:01] that's I want that.
[03:04] And the rest is history. Wow.
[03:07] Well, okay. So tell us maybe tell us a
[03:09] few of your favorites here, and maybe
[03:12] some of the first because again, if it
[03:14] was a dream, what was that first car
[03:17] purchased like? So actually, the first
[03:19] car I got was a Mustang. Okay.
[03:22] Now, the the one in the movie is a
[03:23] fastback.
[03:25] I couldn't afford a fastback. So the
[03:28] first savings I had it was literally
[03:31] the first car I got. Okay. It was 2,500
[03:33] bucks.
[03:35] I could see the the road from the floor
[03:37] panel. It was so rusted. But you know
[03:40] what? It was my car. Okay.
[03:42] I bought it. It was a coupe Mustang. I
[03:44] still have it to this day,
[03:46] over 20 years. Wow. And that is always
[03:50] going to be the special car for me. And
[03:52] that's the car I work on the most,
[03:53] actually. It's never-ending project
[03:55] because there's always something I can
[03:56] improve. And you I mean, you do this all
[03:58] yourself. You restore these cars.
[04:00] I do. I love it. I mean, there's things
[04:02] I know my level of incompetence,
[04:05] but if I can find it on YouTube, I'll
[04:07] learn it.
[04:08] And I'll get it done. And this this
[04:10] collection, these are all American cars.
[04:13] It's all American, actually. So when I
[04:15] moved to the US, I landed in Detroit.
[04:19] And it's kind of where I
[04:21] mostly grew up. Okay. Uh or became
[04:24] aware, I I should say. And a lot of my
[04:27] friends
[04:28] worked on their cars.
[04:30] And one thing led to another. I'm like,
[04:32] there's a lot of history. There's, you
[04:34] know, the V8s. There's the muscle car.
[04:37] And that became my my passion or where I
[04:41] get drawn is this American muscle, and
[04:44] it shifted a little bit to also American
[04:46] history. So what you'll see is not just
[04:49] muscle cars. There's There's history
[04:50] here, too.
[04:51] Okay.
[04:52] So every car here has special meaning to
[04:54] you. Every car has a story. Okay. I
[04:57] either story for me
[05:00] or a story that came with the car.
[05:02] Either a prior owner or an experience or
[05:05] something I personally experienced.
[05:08] And I have to want to drive the cars.
[05:10] And you drive them around Austin. I
[05:11] drive.
[05:13] If I can start it,
[05:14] I will drive it.
[05:15] There's no car that I won't drive. I bet
[05:17] everybody in Austin is like waiting for
[05:19] I wonder what car Hassane's going to
[05:21] drive today. Yeah, wait till I when I
[05:23] when I go back try to valet something.
[05:25] Nobody wants to touch it.
[05:27] Or they maybe do and you don't see it
[05:29] again. So yeah, either way. So what is
[05:32] the craziest car that you ever bought?
[05:35] The craziest car I ever bought. So
[05:39] crazy
[05:41] is a perspective. Just cuz I've had a
[05:43] car.
[05:44] There are levels because there are cars
[05:46] I have, I'm like, "Oh, you know, this is
[05:48] like a normal car." And people go, "No,
[05:51] it's not." It's a little crazy.
[05:54] So there's different levels. So from a
[05:56] speed crazy level, it's the one behind
[05:58] you. Okay.
[06:00] It's the Mark IV GT. Okay. The And it's
[06:04] for a racetrack. That's a race race-only
[06:06] car.
[06:07] Another crazy car,
[06:10] I have a 1925 Ford Model TT. Wow. With a
[06:13] crank wheel.
[06:14] People look at it like,
[06:16] "Okay, that doesn't belong here. You're
[06:18] crazy to just have gotten it." I look at
[06:20] it as
[06:21] it was a car. It's actually a piece of
[06:24] art. Okay. It's It's better than a
[06:25] sculpture to look at. Do you drive that
[06:27] around? I I did once. I just don't know
[06:30] how to drive it.
[06:31] [laughter]
[06:31] It has too many levers. But
[06:34] there is a Austin
[06:37] Model T club
[06:38] that I found. Okay. And they told me
[06:40] they will teach me how to drive it.
[06:42] Nice. So I got my connections. Cute. So
[06:45] what Do you have any regrets about maybe
[06:48] something that you did or didn't buy?
[06:50] Uh not
[06:52] no regrets. I have patience. Okay.
[06:55] Few thing.
[06:56] Uh
[06:57] but I'll give you the rule. Okay.
[07:00] If I I ask my myself one question. If I
[07:03] wake up in the morning
[07:05] and the car is gone,
[07:07] would I regret it?
[07:09] If the answer is yes,
[07:11] I'll buy it before I go to bed.
[07:12] [laughter]
[07:13] That way I solved the regrets problem.
[07:16] There are times where I go, "Yeah, I
[07:18] wasn't really
[07:19] too passionate about it." And I'll let
[07:21] it go. Okay.
[07:23] Okay. But there has to be that that
[07:25] passion and that drive
[07:27] to want to have it because of the
[07:29] history it represents. Okay. So I think
[07:32] it's quite ironic that you're the CEO of
[07:35] a company that's powering the movement
[07:37] towards electric vehicles.
[07:39] [laughter]
[07:39] Yes. Okay. So how do you feel about that
[07:42] kind of transition and the the
[07:44] transition away from the combustion
[07:47] engine, the sound of it, the emotion,
[07:49] especially the muscle cars, to the quiet
[07:52] efficiency of an electric car? I mean,
[07:54] can you Can you fall in love with an
[07:55] electric car? So that's actually a very
[07:59] hard question for me
[08:00] to uh
[08:02] to be able to answer without really
[08:04] compartmentalizing. Okay.
[08:06] As a passionate car person and driver,
[08:11] those are the cars I I get drawn to.
[08:14] As a
[08:17] involved in the community, as a
[08:19] technology person,
[08:21] the electric cars are inevitable.
[08:24] But I do not believe
[08:26] the approach is, "Oh, it's all electric
[08:29] cars or all V8s or hybrids going to be
[08:32] the the mainstream."
[08:35] Every person The car is a personal
[08:37] purchase to a lot of people. Mhm.
[08:39] Uh I do have an electric car. Okay. But
[08:42] I picked an electric car that drives
[08:44] those emotions for me
[08:46] just like any of these cars drive
[08:49] different emotions.
[08:51] So I do think you can.
[08:53] There are things about electric cars,
[08:55] whether it's the technology or
[08:57] I'm not going to say the vibration or
[08:58] the rocking, but the the the humming or
[09:02] the audio or the noise that actually
[09:05] draws people to it. But you have to have
[09:07] the right car. I believe in car
[09:09] personality. Okay.
[09:12] If you have to find the car. One of my
[09:14] biggest struggles is actually finding a
[09:16] daily driver.
[09:18] I can pick out any classic car or muscle
[09:20] car and and and buy it no problem
[09:22] because it just drives that emotion.
[09:24] For a daily driver, I actually struggle
[09:26] to figure out what am I going to drive
[09:28] every day. Okay.
[09:30] And what do you drive every day?
[09:32] So
[09:33] when I'm here,
[09:35] I have an F-150 Raptor.
[09:37] Okay. So
[09:38] I went the pickup truck [laughter]
[09:40] route. A true Texan. A true Texan. But
[09:44] what I what I also have is a electric
[09:47] all-electric Mercedes G Wagon. Okay.
[09:50] Uh it does have a sound.
[09:53] I love the feel. It's very robust, but
[09:55] it also drives that emotion. A different
[09:57] type of emotion than, you know, an F-150
[10:00] Raptor,
[10:01] but nevertheless,
[10:03] it drives an emotion. Okay. So, to
[10:04] answer your question, you know, can you
[10:05] fall in love with an electric car? It
[10:07] depends what you're looking at, what
[10:08] you're looking for in a car.
[10:10] And I always look for a car that fits
[10:13] something I'm I'm looking for.
[10:15] Whatever that is. Okay. And I think
[10:17] people will will will learn that, just
[10:19] like we learned how to love V8s and then
[10:21] V high-power V6s and so on. Every
[10:24] everything has got a a time.
[10:26] Okay. And so, do you think that the fact
[10:28] that you are, you know, such a car
[10:30] enthusiast actually helps you in the
[10:33] industry and helps, you know, maybe
[10:36] as the electric car transition occurs
[10:39] that you can be a
[10:40] offer a perspective that maybe others
[10:42] couldn't? And I I I want to believe that
[10:45] I do Okay. because
[10:49] I it's like the compartmentalization I I
[10:51] talked to about is
[10:53] I'm in both.
[10:54] Mhm. I'm in both with passion.
[10:57] I'm in electric vehicles as an industry,
[11:00] as a company,
[11:01] and 100% passionate about that and the
[11:05] possibilities of what that brings for
[11:07] for the industry.
[11:09] On a personal level,
[11:11] I am passionate about,
[11:13] you know, internal combustion engines
[11:15] and big blocks and so on.
[11:17] So, from a perspective,
[11:21] I don't I don't look at it as one versus
[11:24] the other. Okay. There's always a
[11:26] balance. And I think companies that
[11:28] strike that balance,
[11:30] because there are people that don't want
[11:31] an EV because not because they don't
[11:33] like it,
[11:34] because their use case doesn't support
[11:37] an EV today. And that's okay. Why is
[11:40] that a wrong decision? Right. So, if we
[11:44] just look at it as a balanced
[11:45] perspective, as an optionality,
[11:48] then I think the industry will be much
[11:49] better for it.
[11:51] This episode is brought to you by Morgan
[11:52] Stanley.
[11:54] Morgan Stanley celebrated its 90th
[11:56] anniversary last year, and its tech
[11:58] investment banking team has prided
[12:00] itself in working with the most
[12:02] innovative entrepreneurs and leadership
[12:04] companies for decades.
[12:06] During that time, they've led IPOs for
[12:08] hundreds of tech companies, including
[12:10] Apple, ARM, Astera Labs, Broadcom,
[12:14] Cisco, Facebook, Google, Nvidia,
[12:18] Salesforce, and Uber. In addition, they
[12:20] worked as a trusted advisor and executed
[12:23] thousands of M&A transactions for some
[12:25] of the most industry-defining deals in
[12:27] technology.
[12:29] Throughout the years, Morgan Stanley's
[12:30] tech investment banking team success has
[12:33] been achieved by dedication,
[12:36] consistency, and a North Star purpose of
[12:38] helping its clients to maximize their
[12:41] opportunities and overcome their
[12:42] challenges. Now, let's get back to the
[12:44] episode.
[12:46] Okay, so, what excites you about the
[12:49] electric car from a technology
[12:50] perspective? Maybe some of the new
[12:52] innovations that are happening today.
[12:55] When the electric car, to me, is like a
[12:58] blank canvas.
[13:00] And it's a platform.
[13:02] And the opportunity that the industry
[13:05] has
[13:06] is to redefine what a car is and what a
[13:08] vehicle is.
[13:10] The thing that excite me, you know,
[13:11] coming from a internal combustion muscle
[13:13] car, I love the torque. Okay. For
[13:15] example,
[13:17] needless to say that I go through a lot
[13:19] more tires than I typically do, but I
[13:22] love the torque. I love the technology
[13:24] in it. Because when you have a blank
[13:26] sheet of paper,
[13:28] a lot of the strings attached to legacy
[13:32] way of making vehicles get dropped.
[13:35] So, that's what I really find the
[13:37] passion in electric vehicles is shifted
[13:41] from under the hood to in the cabin.
[13:44] The drivetrain is
[13:46] almost transparent other than, you know,
[13:49] the torque and the horsepower and the
[13:50] responsiveness.
[13:52] But that fundamental
[13:54] technology and how much technology goes
[13:57] into an electric car is to me is is
[13:59] amazing, and we're just getting started.
[14:02] And that I think is where the future of
[14:05] I would call it the e-mobility is going
[14:08] is
[14:09] creating that experience for us, whether
[14:12] you're a driver, but more importantly is
[14:13] focused on the passenger, also.
[14:15] Okay. Because the driver now
[14:17] sometimes is a passenger for autonomous
[14:20] vehicle. So, it it redefines what does
[14:23] it mean to commute or what does it mean
[14:26] to drive a car. Okay. And that is an
[14:28] opportunity to
[14:30] bring in more perspective.
[14:32] And so, we were talking earlier about
[14:35] the the Chinese car manufacturers and
[14:37] how I mean
[14:38] the innovation is really unbelievable.
[14:41] So, what are some of the most exciting
[14:42] things that are happening there?
[14:44] Uh
[14:45] So, it's a couple things in in China
[14:47] EVs, which is very very commendable,
[14:51] also.
[14:52] It's not just the innovation and the
[14:53] level of innovation. It is the speed
[14:56] Okay. by which they innovate. It's just
[14:58] unbelievable.
[15:00] Year after year, you know, I go to the
[15:02] uh Shanghai or the Beijing Auto Show,
[15:03] the automotive auto show in in China
[15:05] every year.
[15:07] And every year, like leaps of technology
[15:10] that we usually have been brought up or
[15:13] trained to look at every 5 years. Okay.
[15:16] That gives a very different perspective
[15:18] to the rest of the world that that's the
[15:21] goal.
[15:22] And, you know, some of the technologies,
[15:24] for example, from last year,
[15:26] uh adaptive suspension.
[15:28] We all know adaptive suspension existed.
[15:31] The innovation that I saw in in China
[15:34] was
[15:35] dramatically different than the
[15:37] innovation that I'm used to with the
[15:39] suspension.
[15:41] Uh dancing cars, you know, the social
[15:43] media took it as dancing cars, literally
[15:46] dancing. Now,
[15:47] nobody needs a dancing car,
[15:49] but it's the responsiveness of the
[15:52] suspension
[15:53] where if you go over some of our roads,
[15:56] you actually don't feel anything. The
[15:58] car is flat. The wheels are bouncing all
[16:00] over the place, but the car is flat.
[16:03] That's innovation that touches the
[16:05] experience and the the experience that
[16:08] somebody feels while driving.
[16:10] That's innovation, not for the sake of
[16:12] innovation. Although, you know,
[16:13] marketing was cool with the dancing car,
[16:16] but it's innovation that actually
[16:18] targets
[16:19] uh aspects of life.
[16:21] If you're having a drink in the car
[16:22] because the car drives itself,
[16:24] I don't want to worry about spilling.
[16:26] The car handles that. That's innovation
[16:28] with a purpose. So, we can drink and
[16:30] drive. You coffee. [laughter]
[16:34] Okay, so, how how are the US or European
[16:37] car companies going to ever keep up with
[16:39] that?
[16:41] Not by
[16:43] redoing the same things we've been doing
[16:45] for forever. Okay. Uh
[16:48] So, it's not about China, just China.
[16:50] Let me just put it in perspective.
[16:52] Uh
[16:54] There's categories. You have the
[16:56] traditional OEMs, then you have the
[16:57] disruptor uh OEMs.
[17:00] Disruptors, China is a disruptor
[17:03] OEM. And I mean that in a good way
[17:06] because
[17:07] most of the CEOs were not car peop- were
[17:10] not car CEOs running internal combustion
[17:13] engines, and they had to make that
[17:15] transition.
[17:16] It was blank sheet of paper, we're going
[17:18] to do a car company, we're going to
[17:19] start electric. No legacy, no strings
[17:22] attached, no history of
[17:25] all of these things.
[17:26] History is good because you don't repeat
[17:28] mistakes,
[17:30] but history can also be a a holdback. Uh
[17:33] well, we've always done it that way.
[17:35] So, the shift that US or or European or
[17:40] or any non-disruptor or traditional OEM,
[17:43] they have to have a disruptor
[17:45] perspective.
[17:47] Now, it's way easier said than done.
[17:50] You have to have that that
[17:52] kind of the the the guts
[17:55] and the push because you're going
[17:57] against the grain. Mhm. And you're not
[17:59] going to say, oh, we're going to be a
[18:00] disruptor, and then everybody goes,
[18:02] we've been waiting for you to say that.
[18:04] It is as much of a cultural shift
[18:07] as it is everything else. And that I
[18:10] think has to happen before we even can
[18:13] talk because it's not about,
[18:15] you know, China OEMs are more innovative
[18:18] than our European or US OEMs. Innovation
[18:21] is everywhere.
[18:23] How fast can we do it? How quickly can
[18:25] we pivot? That's I think what's going to
[18:27] be the the holdback, not the level of
[18:29] innovation. Okay, so, in the US,
[18:32] obviously, several of the US
[18:34] manufacturers have pulled back on EVs.
[18:36] You think that they're going to I mean,
[18:38] if if the transition is inevitable,
[18:40] then won't they get too far behind? It's
[18:43] the example I say is you can't study
[18:46] before the test. Okay.
[18:48] And what that means in in reality is
[18:51] you're not going to wake up one day and
[18:52] make the best EV
[18:54] if you haven't gone through generational
[18:56] improvements over the EV. Okay. Uh you
[18:59] know, I talked about, you know, the
[19:00] speed of innovation in China. Every
[19:02] year,
[19:04] they have one or two design cycles.
[19:07] Or, in my view, it's a learning cycle.
[19:10] Which means the learning rate
[19:12] is much faster.
[19:14] I think,
[19:16] and I don't run these companies, so it's
[19:18] it's easier for me to look at from the
[19:19] outside,
[19:21] but I think technology is moving at such
[19:23] a pace. Look at AI. Technology in
[19:25] general is pulling
[19:27] much faster innovation into the
[19:29] industry.
[19:30] That's happening also in automotive.
[19:32] We've always looked at automotive as,
[19:34] ah, it's kind of slow, so we'll see that
[19:35] same technology 3 years from now, 4
[19:37] years from now. We're seeing it within a
[19:39] year from when it gets introduced in
[19:41] general market.
[19:42] Right. You can't do that
[19:45] if you're still thinking about the
[19:47] approach of car making the same way.
[19:50] Or incremental. It has to be a leap.
[19:54] Well, hopefully someone internally at
[19:56] these companies are thinking about this.
[19:57] So they can hear listen to the podcast.
[20:00] And they will starting tomorrow.
[20:02] [laughter]
[20:03] Okay, [snorts] so one of the one of the
[20:05] best parts about this podcast for me has
[20:08] been learning sort of
[20:10] the stories about where people come from
[20:12] and how impactful
[20:14] I mean, we all know that childhood is
[20:16] impactful in general, but but really
[20:18] determines
[20:20] how resilient and tough a leader is and
[20:22] and your story has that that same thread
[20:24] and course if you look at someone's
[20:26] career sometimes it may look linear, but
[20:28] there's all kinds of hang-ups and
[20:30] bang-ups and
[20:31] pivots and you know, all kinds of
[20:34] challenges that that get you there. So
[20:37] you were you were born and raised in
[20:40] Lebanon.
[20:42] And I have to tell you that every
[20:43] Lebanese person I know has a certain
[20:45] grittiness, a certain toughness and
[20:47] resilience probably from growing up in
[20:49] the 80s and 90s
[20:51] and the during the time of the events or
[20:54] civil war as the outsiders may call it.
[20:57] And so I want you to to take us back to
[21:00] that time. So I want to hear from you
[21:02] about what it was like to grow up in
[21:03] Lebanon and maybe what part of that
[21:06] world still is in your mind and is part
[21:09] of the way that you think and do things.
[21:11] Yeah, you know, it's it's I always look
[21:13] back
[21:15] because I right I'm here. I've been here
[21:17] longer than I've lived in Lebanon.
[21:20] But I always look back because I see the
[21:23] news you know, unfortunately what's
[21:25] going on in the region you heard the you
[21:27] can't escape the events that are
[21:29] happening.
[21:30] And I look back and like I was there
[21:33] during such events.
[21:36] Different wars, different parties, war
[21:38] is a war and the impact that has on
[21:40] people is is real
[21:42] and it's not just you know, what we see
[21:44] and feel when we watch it on TV. On the
[21:46] ground the impact is is way more real
[21:49] for sure,
[21:50] but it's way different because it's
[21:53] permanent.
[21:55] So I grew up in in the war.
[21:59] And I smile because that could have gone
[22:01] very very differently for me.
[22:04] And what I mean by that when you grow up
[22:06] in a war and it wasn't you know, all I
[22:09] grew up in I think two or three
[22:10] different wars.
[22:12] So there were areas of peace or duration
[22:16] of peace,
[22:17] but nevertheless it was war.
[22:20] We moved homes four times
[22:23] meaning
[22:24] house got bombed.
[22:26] We had to leave.
[22:27] One time I remember
[22:30] and I talking even with my parents
[22:33] we lost a house before we moved in.
[22:37] So you want to talk about the pace of in
[22:40] this case unwanted change. It's
[22:42] unbelievable what disruption that
[22:44] creates.
[22:46] And when I say it could have gone two
[22:47] different ways.
[22:49] This could have taken me in a victim
[22:52] level mentality.
[22:54] You know, this is happening. It's the
[22:57] environment.
[22:59] But the way it took me is the
[23:00] resiliency.
[23:03] It doesn't matter what happens. You get
[23:05] up
[23:06] and you move forward whether it's a foot
[23:08] an inch a mile it doesn't matter. Just
[23:10] move.
[23:12] That's the resiliency and I credit that
[23:14] to both my parents.
[23:17] They never
[23:18] they never backed down.
[23:20] I mean think about it. You know, four
[23:22] homes and and and working two jobs
[23:28] is not like something back then it
[23:31] didn't dawn on me. But now when you sit
[23:34] and I reflect back into
[23:36] you know, that's interesting how I got
[23:37] here and I reflect back.
[23:39] I credit both of them because they
[23:41] abstracted
[23:43] a lot of that
[23:44] day-to-day
[23:46] chaos
[23:48] and unintentionally put me on
[23:51] the resiliency path versus the I say
[23:54] unintentionally but maybe it was
[23:55] intentional. But it's that resiliency in
[23:57] in them that was passed on to me and my
[24:00] sisters.
[24:02] And I think that
[24:03] is what shaped me moving forward.
[24:06] And it shapes me in every decision
[24:09] whether it's you know, risk or
[24:10] fearlessness whatever it is.
[24:14] There's not a
[24:15] problem big enough
[24:17] that I won't take it on.
[24:19] I think that because
[24:21] can't get worse than a war.
[24:23] Everything else is kind of problems on a
[24:25] Monday morning.
[24:27] So a different perspective.
[24:29] Yeah, so so
[24:31] talk a little bit about maybe either
[24:33] particular events or circumstances or
[24:35] even people that had a big impact. You
[24:38] talk about your parents
[24:40] that you can actually point to okay,
[24:42] this is why I behave as a human or a
[24:44] person this way because of
[24:47] something that happened.
[24:49] Look, I
[24:50] I would look at it every every person I
[24:53] meet.
[24:55] It doesn't matter how they believe they
[24:57] were influential or their role in my
[24:59] life influential or not.
[25:01] Every person I meet has something to
[25:05] teach
[25:06] if you're willing
[25:07] to listen.
[25:09] It could be you know, small behavioral
[25:10] things small you know, I mentioned all
[25:13] the stuff from my parents. To give you
[25:15] an example from just growing up not
[25:17] thinking twice about
[25:20] my mom did two jobs.
[25:22] Woke up at 4:00 in the morning to go to
[25:23] the first one
[25:25] and by 8:00 to the second one.
[25:27] Okay, now
[25:29] that's
[25:31] working when most people go to get a
[25:34] coffee before their first job. Okay,
[25:36] that is very different when I looked at
[25:38] it
[25:39] and that taught me a lot of the about
[25:41] hard work and not you're you're not
[25:43] better than any job you do.
[25:45] Just
[25:46] focus on the job you have to do and do
[25:48] it well. So I learned a lot of that that
[25:50] I still carry with me. I never look at
[25:52] the what's next.
[25:54] It's what am I doing now and am I am I
[25:57] doing it the best way
[26:00] I know how to do it. And if not, can I
[26:02] learn it to be the best at it today.
[26:05] Not about what it will lead tomorrow and
[26:07] so on. That drove me in my career.
[26:09] Same thing with my dad. The work ethics.
[26:13] My dad will take a his shirt off to give
[26:16] it to somebody at work
[26:18] before he thinks of himself.
[26:20] That's loyalty and that's that's work
[26:22] ethics and so on.
[26:24] A lot of examples like that I learned.
[26:26] Community.
[26:28] Living in a war you all you only have
[26:30] the community and we got pretty close in
[26:31] the shelters.
[26:33] But everybody pulled together.
[26:35] Nobody was better than the other. We're
[26:37] all in it together. Community matters. I
[26:39] learned a ton about that.
[26:42] I'll give you a story which may shock a
[26:44] lot of people.
[26:46] I remember
[26:47] being in our living room in the middle
[26:50] of a battle or war whatever you want to
[26:52] call it.
[26:54] And we had wounded soldiers coming to
[26:56] our living room because my mom was a
[26:58] anesthesiologist.
[27:01] And they were getting help in our living
[27:03] room.
[27:04] Okay, that's community.
[27:06] [laughter]
[27:07] Regardless of what you look at it and
[27:08] what impact and all that.
[27:10] So to me
[27:12] and I fast forward my uncle who helped
[27:15] me come to the US
[27:17] left a big impact.
[27:19] He left when he was 17.
[27:22] He visited Lebanon once. I've met him
[27:24] once.
[27:26] And that impact is what actually planted
[27:29] the seed what I talked about before of
[27:31] this
[27:32] unattainable land all of a sudden
[27:35] became attainable.
[27:37] Like it just
[27:39] my my vision became a dream and then my
[27:42] dream became reality.
[27:44] All that stuff is is impact that
[27:47] now it's clearer than what it was
[27:51] during the time it actually happened.
[27:53] Those are the what I call the defining
[27:55] moments
[27:56] that you don't know when you're in it,
[27:59] but you can miss it.
[28:01] And I'm very grateful. I I
[28:04] missed less than what I took advantage
[28:06] of for these defining moments.
[28:08] Yeah, and you talk about community. We
[28:11] were talking earlier about some of the
[28:12] philanthropy you do. So you have carried
[28:14] that forward to your work in Austin.
[28:17] Yeah, I I personally I believe I'm
[28:21] very grateful
[28:22] for
[28:23] what life has has
[28:25] what I've accomplished in life through a
[28:27] lot of hard work.
[28:30] But it nevertheless always grateful and
[28:32] humble.
[28:34] I don't believe
[28:37] I've achieved something that others
[28:39] cannot and so on.
[28:41] And I have a philosophy is I have to pay
[28:43] it forward.
[28:45] I got an opportunity to come here to the
[28:47] US
[28:49] and be able to provide whether a job or
[28:52] whether a service or whether to to a lot
[28:54] of people I meet.
[28:57] Now I'm fortunate
[29:00] that I have the means
[29:01] to pay it forward
[29:03] in multiples than I what I did when I
[29:05] you know, in small things before.
[29:08] And that I don't want to lose.
[29:10] I always want to contribute because
[29:14] what else is there?
[29:16] Right?
[29:17] That's what that's what's there.
[29:19] Is making everybody around you feel
[29:24] like they're also making an impact.
[29:27] Very nice. So when you were as you were
[29:30] growing up, what was how was success
[29:33] defined in your household? I mean what
[29:34] did your parents want for you
[29:36] eventually?
[29:37] So in Lebanon
[29:40] every parent you have to be either a
[29:42] doctor,
[29:44] an engineer or or
[29:46] That's it.
[29:47] I wasn't going to be a doctor. I can't
[29:49] stand the sight of blood.
[29:51] Uh
[29:52] mine or anybody else's. So, that was way
[29:54] out of the question.
[29:56] But, I knew I was going to be an
[29:57] engineer
[29:58] because since I was young, you know, I
[30:00] get the Christmas toys and so on. My
[30:02] first reaction was take it apart. Okay.
[30:04] I just take it apart and make stuff with
[30:05] it, other things with it.
[30:08] Uh
[30:09] so, I knew I was going to be an engineer
[30:11] that I wanted to build things.
[30:13] Uh so, that for me was and my parents
[30:15] saw that. And did were there any other
[30:18] engineers in your family that you
[30:19] emulated? So, my dad was a engineering
[30:22] background. Okay.
[30:23] Uh
[30:24] and he
[30:26] supported it. So, when he started seeing
[30:29] I'm taking stuff apart, you know,
[30:30] parents would be like
[30:32] it's a brand new toy.
[30:33] You just broke it.
[30:35] My parents go, "Huh, there may be
[30:37] something there." So, he got me a
[30:38] soldering iron. Okay. As a the next
[30:42] gift. I'm like, "Great. Now I got I
[30:44] started buying these kits and building
[30:46] my own stuff and soldering and I got
[30:48] just loved
[30:51] the whole
[30:52] electronics. So, that's actually where
[30:54] my passion started at a young age of
[30:57] just building kits and making stuff
[30:59] work.
[31:00] So,
[31:01] that was success.
[31:04] Okay. Do what you love
[31:06] and do it with passion.
[31:09] And another thing always which
[31:12] again, I carry with me.
[31:16] Never envy anybody's situation. Okay.
[31:20] There's always a reason.
[31:22] So, that's why I it doesn't matter what
[31:25] I achieve from success or what others
[31:27] see it from the outside and all that.
[31:31] Whatever I get to
[31:33] if I feel
[31:35] that I'm
[31:37] that I've accomplished to the to my
[31:39] level of capability
[31:42] uh then I'm I'm successful. Okay. It's
[31:44] not measurable. It's uh it's felt. And
[31:48] I'll be honest with you.
[31:49] The only one that matters is is what I
[31:51] feel.
[31:52] Okay. I'll be selfish about that.
[31:54] I don't care. Whatever I accomplish in
[31:56] life and I'll give that to everybody
[31:58] including including, you know, my
[31:59] daughter and and a lot of my family. It
[32:02] Success is not measurable.
[32:05] If you achieved what you wanted to
[32:07] achieve
[32:08] then that's it.
[32:09] It only matters to you cuz you're by
[32:12] yourself sleeping at night thinking
[32:13] about it in your own head. What have I
[32:15] accomplished? And you just have to be
[32:17] happy with that. That's what I was
[32:19] taught what I was taught. It wasn't
[32:22] the more and you need the next one and
[32:23] the next one. It's it's not about that.
[32:26] But, at the same time your parents must
[32:27] be so proud of what you've accomplished.
[32:29] Believe it or not, well, they are
[32:32] and they're very proud
[32:34] uh of me and my sisters. We have
[32:36] different uh uh
[32:38] ways we went in our careers, but they
[32:40] are proud nevertheless because the
[32:42] measure of success is very different for
[32:44] each one of us.
[32:47] But,
[32:48] you know, one thing I I I will say from
[32:51] until I became CEO of of uh
[32:54] Cypress in 2016
[32:57] my parents had no idea what I did.
[33:00] Because it wasn't about
[33:02] uh people ask me even when I used to
[33:04] visit Lebanon, you know, what do you do?
[33:06] What do you do? Oh, I'm an engineer.
[33:08] Doesn't matter if I was the executive
[33:09] vice president or
[33:11] running a big group or engineer.
[33:14] I'm an engineer.
[33:16] Because I don't again, my accomplishment
[33:19] is my own.
[33:21] Until it became public in the news and
[33:23] they saw it on Facebook
[33:26] and people start calling them. They
[33:27] called me literally. My mom was like
[33:30] "How did that happen? Is that it like a
[33:32] big deal?"
[33:33] I was like, "Well, it kind of is a big
[33:35] deal." And they were they were very
[33:36] proud of me.
[33:38] But, they didn't see the journey. Right.
[33:41] They just saw the hard work. I worked
[33:43] hours. I had calls at night.
[33:45] So, for them it's okay, you know, he's
[33:48] he's successful. He works hard. He's got
[33:50] that loyalty. He does not cut corner
[33:53] which is what they taught me. So, they
[33:56] could see
[33:57] a lot of the traits that they imprinted
[34:00] on me without knowing it in action. So,
[34:02] it wasn't about what role I did or what
[34:04] level in the company. It was
[34:06] okay, he works hard. Right. Probably
[34:08] more proud of the man you became than
[34:10] necessarily the executive you became.
[34:12] And I'm
[34:13] that's always always I I
[34:16] they have high standards for the person.
[34:19] Again, it's not about the job. For the
[34:21] person I I am
[34:25] but also the person I will continue to
[34:27] evolve.
[34:28] And I hope I
[34:29] stay ahead of their expectations.
[34:31] So, when you're a kid in Lebanon, I
[34:33] mean, yes, you saw the Steve McQueen and
[34:36] and and this kind of stuff, but did you
[34:38] did you ever really imagine this life?
[34:41] No.
[34:43] Not even not even close.
[34:45] Okay.
[34:47] Yeah, I mean
[34:48] [laughter]
[34:48] I don't even know how to ex
[34:50] I didn't even know what this life
[34:53] is or could be. Didn't even know what to
[34:55] dream. I didn't even know yeah, what to
[34:56] dream. There was no internet
[34:58] back. I mean, we barely had power.
[35:01] [laughter]
[35:02] But,
[35:04] I couldn't even formulate a dream for
[35:06] you
[35:07] when I was growing up.
[35:09] And that's why this to me is
[35:12] is just again, humble. Like every day
[35:15] I'm I'm grateful.
[35:17] And that's not going to go away. It
[35:19] doesn't matter.
[35:20] Okay, so when you're 17, you leave to
[35:24] come to the the US. I mean,
[35:27] that is that's difficult for anyone much
[35:28] less a kid. And so, you had one uncle
[35:31] that you saw that did it. So, tell us a
[35:33] little bit about that journey. So, what
[35:36] prompted the journey and then, you know,
[35:39] maybe what it taught you about, you
[35:41] know, identity, resilience, or any of
[35:43] these other lessons. Yeah, it's so
[35:47] my uncle visited Lebanon and that's
[35:49] where this started formulate that it's a
[35:52] it's a possibility.
[35:54] So, that's when I really applied. Okay.
[35:56] And
[35:58] he guided me of no, you can apply to
[36:00] university. I'm like, "Really?
[36:02] Me, this kid, you know, in Lebanon?"
[36:05] Yeah, you can apply.
[36:06] So, I did.
[36:08] And you know, it was one of those
[36:11] we're still mailing stuff.
[36:13] And the post office in Lebanon, I mean,
[36:16] it's not your Amazon Prime.
[36:20] So,
[36:22] I applied then. I got this letter. I
[36:23] don't remember the date.
[36:25] August 16th
[36:29] 1997.
[36:31] My I-20
[36:33] which is like the student visa. It's not
[36:36] a visa. I had to go and apply for a visa
[36:39] with that piece of paper.
[36:42] And again, my parents were so very
[36:43] supportive.
[36:45] Cuz they knew I'm such an engineer and a
[36:47] techie and there's nothing for me in
[36:49] Lebanon
[36:50] to do that passion
[36:52] to be successful.
[36:54] So, we went to the airport
[36:56] cuz there's no consulate in Lebanon at
[36:58] that time. Okay. To cuz I needed a visa.
[37:02] So, my dad was like, "Let's go to the
[37:03] airport."
[37:05] And we had to go to Cyprus.
[37:08] No, believe it or not. That's yeah,
[37:10] ironic. Okay.
[37:11] Very ironic.
[37:13] And we couldn't get a flight.
[37:16] My dad was like
[37:17] so, he called somebody like, "Yeah, they
[37:19] have a Cessna, four-seater prop plane."
[37:23] We're like, "Let's go." So, it was the
[37:24] pilot, my dad, and me. We took the
[37:27] Cessna over the Mediterranean to go
[37:30] for an hour.
[37:32] I'm like
[37:33] I don't know if I was scared or excited
[37:35] or adrenaline or or all of the above.
[37:38] We get there. I go to the consulate. I
[37:40] apply. They're like, "Oh, you got to
[37:42] come back tomorrow." I'm like,
[37:43] "Tomorrow? I
[37:44] I literally took a plane like for a
[37:48] And then I got my my my I-20. That's day
[37:52] two. Okay.
[37:54] Went back to to Lebanon. Same
[37:56] the pilot waited for us. Flew back.
[38:00] Packed.
[38:03] And I came I landed. I have the stamp
[38:05] from Chicago
[38:07] on August 22nd.
[38:08] Wow.
[38:09] So, there was no time to think
[38:13] or what to think.
[38:15] From the moment it became real getting
[38:18] that in the mail
[38:19] to the moment I find myself in the US
[38:23] is, you know, five days. Wow. There's
[38:26] nothing I can think about in five days.
[38:28] I don't even know what I was thinking on
[38:29] the plane
[38:31] or if I thought it was like some
[38:34] you know, candid camera. Someone's going
[38:36] to pop up like, "Ah, we just turned
[38:37] around and going back to Lebanon."
[38:40] So, that's the emotion that
[38:43] I could just imagine I was I was
[38:45] feeling.
[38:46] Uh and that's how I came to the US and I
[38:49] don't know if you know
[38:51] I'm French educated. Okay. So, what
[38:53] different school in So, totally
[38:54] different. Yes. Uh
[38:57] and here I am. I mean, I learned English
[38:59] from TV from, you know, as as like 1
[39:02] hour per per week in school. So, I
[39:06] could order food and ask for the
[39:07] bathroom and all of that. But, speak in
[39:09] English, never spoke English before.
[39:12] Uh so, I land here
[39:15] and my cousin is in Michigan and I'm
[39:17] very grateful for him being there cuz it
[39:19] and I've never met him before. Okay. So,
[39:22] him, his wife's his family was there.
[39:25] They kind of embraced me and the family.
[39:27] So, I I had that family that
[39:29] why you chose Michigan?
[39:31] Chose Michigan. Well, automotive and
[39:33] engineering. But, the tie to Michigan
[39:35] was uh family
[39:37] family. But, I landed in the dorms.
[39:41] And I lived in the dorms with people
[39:43] I've never met.
[39:45] And
[39:47] but I immersed myself
[39:49] in that culture and the community
[39:51] because I'm like, "I'm here now. This is
[39:53] life. This is my life. This will be my
[39:56] life."
[39:57] I never had the
[39:58] "Oh, you know, I want I'm going to go
[40:00] back to Lebanon."
[40:01] I came here on that journey and I had no
[40:04] intent
[40:05] on going back. Okay.
[40:07] And
[40:08] that was it.
[40:08] true today?
[40:09] That's still true.
[40:10] up back in Lebanon? I'm
[40:13] No.
[40:14] So, how long did it take you to
[40:16] get to the point at university that
[40:18] you're having conversations with friends
[40:20] in English?
[40:21] Uh
[40:23] [laughter]
[40:24] It took a little bit cuz of course my
[40:26] friends were
[40:27] very nice.
[40:28] Uh very good friends, but I got so much
[40:32] a heartburn from my French accent at the
[40:34] beginning and
[40:36] and if I didn't know the word in
[40:38] English, I'll throw the French thing and
[40:40] of course everyone was like, "Woo woo
[40:41] woo."
[40:43] [laughter]
[40:43] I had to deal with all of that.
[40:45] All in good good spirit and I'm still,
[40:47] you know, friends with with a lot of my
[40:49] college friends.
[40:51] And and that just changed the
[40:54] I don't know the moment, but somebody
[40:55] told like when you start dreaming in
[40:56] English
[40:57] you kind of got it. And I remember one
[40:59] day I woke up and I told my roommate,
[41:01] I'm like, "I
[41:02] I had an English dream.
[41:03] We're good." Or you get the humor and
[41:05] that tells you
[41:06] the humor.
[41:07] as well. But yeah, that that kind of was
[41:09] was
[41:11] uh
[41:12] what I had to to think through, but the
[41:13] other thing is
[41:15] I was embedded in I could only speak
[41:18] English.
[41:19] So, that got me more I had no choice and
[41:22] that's why I
[41:24] I always have to immerse myself in the
[41:27] environment I'm in.
[41:29] I don't go to an environment and want to
[41:31] keep the status quo.
[41:33] I've done two expat assignments in my
[41:35] career and both of them
[41:38] I immersed myself 100%.
[41:39] Where where did you go? I lived in
[41:41] Germany for 3 years. Okay.
[41:44] Got my own apartment.
[41:46] Learned the language and how I learned I
[41:48] was like, "Monday, Tuesday, Friday or
[41:50] Monday, Wednesday, Friday
[41:52] English days, I'll speak English.
[41:54] Tuesday, Thursday
[41:56] you all will struggle with me with
[41:57] German."
[41:58] And you know, I used to go to the bar,
[42:00] speak German. I just got myself into it
[42:03] and I lived in Japan for a year. Okay.
[42:05] Same thing. I got a small apartment in
[42:07] Kawasaki.
[42:09] With the
[42:10] landlady was old nice landlady.
[42:13] Spoke no English. Nobody I knew spoke
[42:16] English, but guess what? Sign language
[42:17] also works.
[42:19] But I didn't live in a hotel
[42:21] or in, you know, the expat quarters.
[42:25] I live by the train station.
[42:27] Why? Cuz I want to know like I want to
[42:29] get that feeling. It's an experience.
[42:31] Yeah, no, I love that. You don't want to
[42:33] miss it.
[42:34] And now you've become a Texan. Can you
[42:35] say y'all? Do you have any
[42:36] Y'all I I sometimes it comes out.
[42:38] Sometimes I type it, too.
[42:40] [laughter]
[42:41] But yes, I love it here. Yeah. I mean I
[42:44] I I came here it started from work.
[42:48] But I love the community. I love the
[42:50] food. I love the
[42:51] the atmosphere.
[42:53] And there's something about about
[42:54] Austin.
[42:55] Uh when I tell people
[42:58] same job, same everything, same
[43:00] intensity, same problems, but somehow
[43:03] when I hang up the last call, I feel
[43:06] relaxed. It's not like a continuous
[43:08] motion. So, I kind of like it. This is
[43:11] my my my zen place. Okay, that's very
[43:13] cool. So,
[43:15] tell tell us a little bit maybe some
[43:17] highlights from both your academic
[43:20] career and then your professional career
[43:23] that you think put you on the path
[43:25] to where you are today.
[43:27] So, you know
[43:29] people may not
[43:31] know or believe this.
[43:33] I never had a
[43:35] thought that I'm going to work so I can
[43:38] get to a CEO or work to get to a a upper
[43:41] management or a management. And that's
[43:43] shown in my career. So, I did a
[43:45] electrical engineering undergrad
[43:47] with a concentration of electronics.
[43:51] Cuz I wanted to be an engineer. I loved
[43:52] doing the stuff from when I was a kid,
[43:54] making boards and so on.
[43:57] Then I
[43:58] got my master's and people are like,
[44:00] "Oh, get an MBA, you can go into I'm
[44:02] like, I don't want to go into business.
[44:04] But I do want to manage groups and so on
[44:07] in engineering. So, I did an engineering
[44:09] management degree. Okay.
[44:11] Which is kind of a it was new at at the
[44:13] university.
[44:15] And it was kind of half MBA, but half
[44:18] engineering. Decision making, risk
[44:20] taking, engineering and so on. Uh so, I
[44:22] did that because my intent was always I
[44:25] want to stay in engineering. That that's
[44:26] what I love.
[44:29] Fast forward
[44:31] I found myself again engineering.
[44:33] But I started solving business problems.
[44:36] Like things are broken, I'm like, "I'll
[44:37] fix it."
[44:38] "Oh, you know, the P&L is broken. Well,
[44:40] you know, we can make money.
[44:42] Let's figure out how to make money and
[44:44] make new products to solve the P&L
[44:46] problem."
[44:47] So, everything became that.
[44:49] And then I moved to uh
[44:52] to Cyprus.
[44:53] Uh and that was a
[44:55] a I took a step back. So, I was a senior
[44:58] system engineer. I was designing brake
[45:00] systems for cars.
[45:01] Okay, so you start out in automotive.
[45:03] Continental. Automotive my whole career.
[45:05] And never even in university ever
[45:07] thought about semiconductors or
[45:10] No. I used semis,
[45:12] but never designed a chip in my life.
[45:16] And it was 2007 and I could see the
[45:19] writing on the wall with the automotive.
[45:21] It was the 2007-2008,
[45:23] the bailout, all of the struggles in
[45:25] auto. I said, "I want to get out of
[45:26] automotive."
[45:27] Believe me. Look where
[45:29] [laughter]
[45:30] how ironic things
[45:32] And Cyprus came. I was like,
[45:35] "Oh, they want to start an automotive uh
[45:37] group." I was like, "Yeah, I want to get
[45:39] out of automotive, but it's
[45:40] semiconductors."
[45:42] So, I did the interview. I'm like, "Wow,
[45:43] that's like really good technology."
[45:47] I remember the
[45:49] and if I had that technology
[45:51] in my current job Mhm. my current job
[45:54] would be way more powerful.
[45:57] I said, "Okay, I'm going to I'm going to
[45:58] go figure out what that does."
[46:02] So, I took a step back. I started as an
[46:04] application engineer doing tech support.
[46:06] Like literally in the bullpen. Okay.
[46:08] Taking calls. It's like, "Yeah, it's
[46:09] something new.
[46:11] I'll do it."
[46:12] And I learned from everybody around me.
[46:14] I learned from That was I wasn't good
[46:17] for good enough I wasn't better than any
[46:19] role that was thrown at me.
[46:22] So, I did that.
[46:24] Then one thing led to another. I'm like,
[46:25] "Oh, we're doing, you know, capass
[46:28] cap sense back at, you know, the touch.
[46:31] Well, cars got a lot of buttons. So, I
[46:32] started making these demos cuz I love
[46:34] making boards and stuff.
[46:36] And I started promoting it to the OEMs.
[46:39] Then, you know, there's traction. Then
[46:40] touch screens came out and we're ahead
[46:42] of the curve.
[46:43] So, that's how I
[46:44] unintentionally I was trying to solve
[46:47] engineering problems and all of a sudden
[46:49] I'm like doing business development and
[46:52] then successful. You know, customers are
[46:53] actually wanting this stuff. I was like,
[46:56] "Well, I need to understand the P&L to
[46:57] see how to spend the money in opex and
[46:59] revenue."
[47:00] So, I learned that from from my
[47:02] managers.
[47:03] Uh and one thing led to another and
[47:06] that's how I got into P&L management.
[47:08] So, it was not a
[47:10] well-thought-out, believe it not.
[47:12] a clear vision
[47:12] a clear path. It was There was no none
[47:15] of that. It was I'm just going to follow
[47:17] where the path goes
[47:20] back to to do the job I was doing.
[47:23] And that's how it happened and they're
[47:25] like, "Well, okay, the P&L there was an
[47:27] opening for the P&L for automotive."
[47:30] And TJ called me
[47:32] cuz he had the say in who runs any P&L.
[47:34] Okay.
[47:36] It's like the highest on
[47:36] you know him at that point? I was in
[47:38] meetings with him. Okay.
[47:40] Not even at the boardroom table. I was
[47:42] in the
[47:43] the what do you call the bleachers?
[47:44] Okay.
[47:45] [laughter]
[47:46] Uh so, I knew the intensity. Let's put
[47:48] it that way.
[47:50] And he called me. I said, "Yeah,
[47:54] I'll do it."
[47:55] Because it was, you know, I was doing
[47:56] I'm something new to learn.
[47:58] The pattern here is curiosity and and
[48:01] and learning. Like I
[48:02] yeah.
[48:02] I have to learn. I have to continue to
[48:05] learn.
[48:06] So, I did that.
[48:08] And then
[48:09] I'm a systems engineer, so I did the
[48:10] hardware and software.
[48:12] Then I took on the software
[48:14] and
[48:15] then all of a sudden I'm
[48:17] an executive vice president
[48:21] relatively speaking early in my career
[48:24] uh that's running almost half the
[48:26] company. Wow.
[48:27] But I I loved every moment of it. Why?
[48:29] Because I was learning.
[48:31] Either I was learning on my own, just
[48:34] figuring the stuff out, the strategy and
[48:36] and all of that.
[48:37] Or I was learning from TJ, which is a
[48:39] very different type of learning, but
[48:41] nevertheless, I was learning.
[48:44] Tough love learning.
[48:45] But I learned a ton.
[48:47] So, that's the pattern
[48:49] why I always say I have to focus
[48:53] on what the role is. What led me to P&L
[48:55] management was not a
[48:58] uh uh
[48:59] trajectory or a uh career path that
[49:02] anybody defined of the next natural step
[49:04] is P&L that gets you in the business.
[49:06] It's
[49:07] I was doing the job and to do my job
[49:10] well, I had to understand how opex works
[49:12] so I don't overspend and miss my boss's
[49:15] budget.
[49:16] So, that's how it all happened.
[49:19] But no intent of that's where I'm going
[49:21] to be.
[49:23] And then when the transition for CEO
[49:24] happened
[49:25] again, I I'll
[49:27] the board did what the board needed to
[49:29] do.
[49:29] Did TJ I mean, did TJ pick you out and
[49:32] say this is the guy? Uh
[49:34] Believe it or not, I'll give you a
[49:35] little insight. So, no, because the the
[49:37] board was looking for a change. Okay. Uh
[49:41] and
[49:43] we had an office of the CEO for 4 months
[49:46] while the board is doing a search.
[49:47] Okay.
[49:48] And
[49:49] I remember I
[49:52] we created the strategy.
[49:54] I created like what I think
[49:56] should be done.
[49:59] Uh and I went to the board. I said,
[50:00] "Look, whoever you're going to get
[50:03] cuz the internal candidate was not
[50:05] uh uh
[50:07] I guess high on the list.
[50:09] I said, "Whoever you're going to get,
[50:10] it's going to take him 6 months to find
[50:12] the bathroom.
[50:13] Like here's a blueprint. That's the
[50:16] Cypress 3.0 that became the brand.
[50:20] The blueprint, just give it to whoever
[50:22] you pick and then they can at least
[50:24] start there and then they can do
[50:26] whatever they need to do once they get
[50:28] their arms around it. And that was 2016.
[50:31] Remember, '17, '18 was like the boomer
[50:33] short
[50:35] So, I wanted that. I'm like, "Don't
[50:38] miss."
[50:39] And then the board is like, "Well, can
[50:40] you do all this?" And I'm like, "Well, I
[50:41] wrote it."
[50:42] And that's how I
[50:44] Wow. took it. It wasn't even like
[50:47] I was doing it because I didn't want the
[50:48] opportunities to be missed. Okay.
[50:51] And then I ended up doing it. And we
[50:53] delivered
[50:54] great for everybody.
[50:56] I
[50:57] It's the year that I met you. I met you
[50:59] maybe 3 months after you took the job.
[51:01] We were at the BMW. Again, ironically,
[51:04] the
[51:04] Oh, I like this. GS and me see you.
[51:05] Yes.
[51:06] Always about cars. Yeah, yeah. Always
[51:08] comes back to cars. Okay, so that's
[51:10] that's a great story. So,
[51:12] so you
[51:13] turned Cypress around and was
[51:16] it did that blueprint say anything about
[51:18] that you would eventually try to sell
[51:19] the company?
[51:20] No, because I was Well, first I was
[51:22] having too much fun. Okay. And two, a
[51:24] lot of the work we did in the first 3
[51:26] years
[51:27] we haven't yet seen the the fruits of
[51:30] it, which I see now from the outside.
[51:32] I'm like, "We did We did good from a
[51:34] technology
[51:36] cuz I again, I it wasn't about what it
[51:38] could and could not. It's like I had the
[51:40] the role, strategy, culture, and
[51:42] maximize the potential of the company.
[51:45] I think getting acquired and having all
[51:48] of that interest when we started running
[51:50] the process was a testament that we did
[51:52] our job very well.
[51:54] Uh
[51:55] and I think that is a what I call a
[51:57] bittersweet. I would have run the
[51:59] company for as long as I was useful.
[52:02] Uh
[52:04] but
[52:05] you know, I also have a job, which is
[52:06] shareholder value creation, and I know
[52:08] that job, too.
[52:10] And I don't control
[52:12] when if we get acquired or not.
[52:14] But, I can tell you, if we didn't do our
[52:15] job well, we wouldn't be acquired either
[52:17] way. So, it's kind of a
[52:20] you have to do the job well, not
[52:22] thinking about what the consequences are
[52:24] other than the job is do well, strategy,
[52:27] shareholder value, and taking care of
[52:29] people.
[52:30] You do all of these, what happens next
[52:32] is not in my control. I don't spend time
[52:34] worrying about
[52:36] outside of my circle of influence and
[52:38] control. Yeah, I think you have that you
[52:40] have that reputation, too, and great
[52:42] reputation on on Wall Street being very
[52:45] focused on shareholder value. So,
[52:47] so I think that works. So, what did you
[52:49] So, sold the company for 10 billion to
[52:51] Infineon.
[52:52] And so
[52:55] what did you really learn during that
[52:57] process that you then took on to to on
[52:59] took on to on? Uh
[53:03] people
[53:04] are the most important uh I guess asset
[53:08] uh in in uh in the company.
[53:12] Everything else comes next.
[53:15] I had a great team.
[53:17] And
[53:18] a lot of those uh my team members from
[53:19] Cypress are still with me today.
[53:23] And I credit them for a lot of the work
[53:25] we uh did at uh at Cypress. And I credit
[53:29] them for a lot of
[53:30] uh a lot of the work that we've done at
[53:32] uh at On Semi.
[53:34] So, that I think I
[53:37] will always carry as is the power of the
[53:39] people
[53:41] uh and what they can do. We can move
[53:42] mountains.
[53:43] Uh
[53:44] and you know, when I started at at On,
[53:46] it was a mountain that we had to move.
[53:48] Okay, so tell us about that. So, you you
[53:50] look at the company, did you understand
[53:52] the problems that you were walking into?
[53:54] So,
[53:56] So, just to remind you, I I started in
[53:58] December 2020. Uh okay. It's like COVID.
[54:01] Yes. Everybody's working from home.
[54:04] People didn't even want to come back.
[54:05] So, that's what I walked into.
[54:08] Now,
[54:10] you know, a lot of people think, you
[54:11] know, when you do the CEO job, you do
[54:13] diligence and and some people do.
[54:16] I didn't do a lot of that.
[54:18] And not because, you know, I wasn't
[54:20] interested. I didn't do it because I
[54:22] don't want to be biased. I
[54:24] my fail a failure mode in leadership
[54:27] is bias, especially blind bias.
[54:31] So, I was very intentional. I said, "I
[54:33] don't want any material. I don't want
[54:34] board me uh material. I want any of
[54:36] that." Okay.
[54:38] I did my work based on earnings reports,
[54:42] customer, whatever I could,
[54:45] and uh
[54:47] uh
[54:48] what the analyst reports wrote, what the
[54:51] analysts wrote about that tran
[54:54] uh transcript or the earnings call.
[54:57] And the strategy was a lot of
[54:59] technology, nobody has any idea what to
[55:01] do with it.
[55:02] Simple.
[55:04] So, that's how I created strategy.
[55:06] Uh before I I walked in and I knew it
[55:08] was going to be cultural, but I knew the
[55:10] company from the outside because, you
[55:12] know, Cypress we did microcontrollers.
[55:14] And On was always seen as a credible,
[55:17] high-quality company around our on the
[55:20] same board.
[55:21] So, tangential, we didn't compete with
[55:23] them. So, I knew there's good bones.
[55:25] Okay. Good technology, good people,
[55:30] but it needed a strategy and the focus
[55:32] that I knew I could bring bring. So,
[55:34] that's where I took on the role I can
[55:37] that I can do and I can do it well, not
[55:39] because of my experience at Cypress.
[55:41] Every company is different, but because
[55:43] what I thought the company needed. And
[55:45] do I have that? And am I passionate
[55:48] about the technology? And that's how I
[55:50] said, "I'm taking the the on."
[55:53] Now, I started in like there's nobody in
[55:54] the office. How are you going to change
[55:56] turn around a company?
[55:58] Change [snorts]
[55:58] culture.
[56:00] This episode is brought to you by GS and
[56:02] me.
[56:03] GS and me is a leading global provider
[56:06] of tailored silicon solutions dedicated
[56:09] to empowering semiconductor and system
[56:10] companies with cutting-edge technology
[56:13] and unparalleled expertise founded in
[56:15] 2022 by Farhat Jahan Gir.
[56:19] Its comprehensive range of services
[56:20] include end-to-end chip design, full
[56:23] turnkey manufacturing capabilities,
[56:25] rigorous quality assurance, and
[56:26] strategic incubation to help its
[56:29] partners bring innovative products to
[56:30] market. At GS and me, they are committed
[56:33] to transforming semiconductor
[56:35] manufacturing landscape by optimizing
[56:37] processes, accelerating product
[56:39] development cycles, and ensuring faster
[56:41] time to market for next-generation
[56:43] applications. GS and me gives full
[56:46] visibility of the supply chain to its
[56:47] customers. Now, back to the episode.
[56:51] How did you determine what the the
[56:53] strategy and focus needed to be? And was
[56:56] it was part of the problem cultural? You
[56:59] said not technology, it was cultural.
[57:01] So, cultural, which is everybody
[57:05] in the industry.
[57:07] And look, I I struggle with that and
[57:08] I'll be very open about it. Looked at On
[57:11] Semi as a trailing technology company,
[57:14] which means a fast follower or
[57:17] the innovation, you know, there's a lot
[57:19] of innovation there,
[57:20] but it wasn't what the company was known
[57:22] about.
[57:24] So, the technology, the good, strong
[57:26] bones were there. It needed focus and it
[57:29] needed direction.
[57:31] And what I mean by direction is
[57:32] do a few things, but do it very well.
[57:36] Because success in fewer things will
[57:38] build upon success of subsequent things.
[57:41] So,
[57:42] the hardest part of it is about what not
[57:44] to do.
[57:45] It wasn't about what to do. Okay.
[57:47] Because what not to do allows you to do
[57:49] what the rest of it better.
[57:52] So, doubling down is something I believe
[57:54] in.
[57:55] I'm very cognizant the difference
[57:57] between tactic and strategy.
[57:59] And it's very simple test I I teach
[58:02] employees in the company. I said, "If
[58:04] you can undo your decision,
[58:06] it's not strategic." Yeah.
[58:08] That's the very simple test. If you wake
[58:10] up tomorrow and it's a wrong decision,
[58:12] can you undo it? Yeah. Then it's not
[58:14] strategic, it's tactical. Commit.
[58:17] Commit to it, convince, and then you
[58:20] will drive it with passion.
[58:22] That's strategic. So, I had to do all of
[58:25] that. And those are not easy decisions.
[58:27] What not to do. It's like, "Oh, well,
[58:29] what about this?"
[58:30] Guys, you want to do it or not? I
[58:33] brought in a lot of new uh people that
[58:35] some I knew, some from the outside.
[58:38] Uh
[58:39] and that's how we we started while,
[58:42] remember,
[58:44] it was December 2020, like I said,
[58:46] COVID. And I thought the biggest thing
[58:48] was going to be, "Oh, you know, how do I
[58:50] manage a company with everybody at home
[58:52] and so on." Cuz this is new for all of
[58:53] us.
[58:55] A month later, I get these calls,
[58:57] escalation calls. All the uh
[58:59] semiconductor shortages started.
[59:02] And it's like, "Sorry, what part?"
[59:04] I don't even know what what group to
[59:06] call to figure out where I get to the
[59:07] part. Like that's how fresh I was trying
[59:10] to deal with the
[59:11] one of the biggest semiconductor
[59:12] shortages in in the industry we've had.
[59:16] So, that's how I kind of baptism by
[59:18] fire.
[59:19] That's how I got people in, brought
[59:21] people back to the office. We were
[59:24] 5 days a week
[59:26] uh one of the first companies.
[59:28] Again, "Oh my god, we're going to lose
[59:30] this."
[59:30] You know what? The work is here. We're
[59:32] an engineering company. You can't
[59:33] innovate remotely. Be here. Be present.
[59:36] Okay. So, you were one of the first.
[59:39] Yeah. And that's right. We
[59:41] We got a lot of people, and that's how
[59:43] we drove innovation. We have you know, I
[59:45] said it on the last earnings call. We
[59:47] delivered more innovative products in
[59:49] the last 2 years during the downturn
[59:52] than the company has probably in the
[59:53] decade.
[59:54] Innovative meaning industry first that
[59:56] nobody else has.
[59:58] Okay, that's credit to the team. That
[59:59] doesn't happen cuz you know, Hassan
[01:00:01] showed up and put a strategy together.
[01:00:04] I gave the what.
[01:00:06] The how is all done by the teams. I
[01:00:08] always go back and I anchor on people.
[01:00:10] So, I mean
[01:00:12] as you talked about transformations, I
[01:00:14] mean it's a lot of really, really tough
[01:00:15] decisions. So, what was one of the
[01:00:17] hardest decisions you had to make?
[01:00:20] Look
[01:00:21] every
[01:00:23] technical
[01:00:25] I don't have problem.
[01:00:27] Uncertainty?
[01:00:28] No problem.
[01:00:30] In our industry the cyclicality
[01:00:33] in our industry, the transformation
[01:00:36] I always
[01:00:38] and you know, I'm sure people say, "Oh,
[01:00:40] everybody says that."
[01:00:43] I always struggle when we do a
[01:00:45] restructuring.
[01:00:48] Cuz
[01:00:49] it's not Oh, you know, we can make
[01:00:51] another product. I mean, it's people's
[01:00:52] lives that you're impacting.
[01:00:54] Uh
[01:00:55] not specific people, but in general.
[01:00:58] Uh
[01:00:58] That's always
[01:01:00] I like that's
[01:01:02] a little bit
[01:01:03] a little bit personal. Right. Uh but
[01:01:05] just because of
[01:01:07] the ramifications, you don't you don't
[01:01:09] know.
[01:01:10] Uh but it doesn't mean you you have to
[01:01:12] be afraid to do the right thing. But
[01:01:15] it's got impact. But it also means, you
[01:01:17] know, once again back to the fact that
[01:01:19] your parents raised a good person, and
[01:01:21] you know what? Those things should I
[01:01:23] mean, they have to bother you. Look, I
[01:01:25] I'll give you an example. Uh you know,
[01:01:27] when we do a restructuring, it goes in
[01:01:30] the news. Somebody picks it up. Uh
[01:01:33] my mom calls me.
[01:01:36] And she goes, "Hey, I heard uh
[01:01:39] you guys are, you know, impacting a lot
[01:01:41] of people."
[01:01:42] I said, "Yeah, it's unfortunate." So,
[01:01:44] she goes,
[01:01:45] "Well, couldn't you have done something
[01:01:46] better?"
[01:01:49] She goes,
[01:01:50] "That's tough." I said, "Yes, that's why
[01:01:53] we have I had to do it." And
[01:01:55] my mom doesn't like it when she reads
[01:01:57] that stuff. And she gives she calls me
[01:01:59] on it.
[01:02:00] But that's the
[01:02:02] that's the backdrop that I have to keep
[01:02:04] I have to keep anchored on it. And it's
[01:02:06] still to this day still happens. All
[01:02:08] right. All right. Well, that's great.
[01:02:10] So,
[01:02:11] I I know that we don't have very much
[01:02:13] more time. So, I
[01:02:14] could go on at least another hour.
[01:02:17] Okay. So, a a few questions about you
[01:02:19] know, I think that um
[01:02:21] great careers are you know, you often
[01:02:26] it's choosing it's choosing uncertainty
[01:02:29] over comfort. And you've talked about
[01:02:30] that sort of time and again.
[01:02:32] And a lot of times it is the the
[01:02:35] failures or the challenges or the fears
[01:02:40] that really make a great leader. Mhm.
[01:02:43] It's not always the successes. So, what
[01:02:45] are some of the
[01:02:47] challenges or failures that you can
[01:02:49] identify that made you a even a stronger
[01:02:51] leader?
[01:02:52] So, a lot of it So, I look at failures
[01:02:55] it's just practice.
[01:02:56] Okay. Uh so, I don't look at it as
[01:02:59] really failure in the sense of oh, you
[01:03:01] got to be down on it and so on. So,
[01:03:03] failure is like, "Yeah, we tried and it
[01:03:04] work. I'll try something new." and so
[01:03:06] on. So, failure is
[01:03:08] is a uh learning cycle to get to what
[01:03:10] you want. So, I never anchor on those.
[01:03:13] Challenges I've had. And look, every day
[01:03:15] I wake up is like a new challenge.
[01:03:17] Especially now in our industry
[01:03:20] there's nothing that goes according to
[01:03:22] plan. Nothing.
[01:03:24] Except technology and what we decide to
[01:03:26] do.
[01:03:27] So, I I anchor on that.
[01:03:30] But I'll give you a personal challenge
[01:03:33] uh that really
[01:03:35] made me think about possibility and
[01:03:38] change things I do.
[01:03:40] When I took over as uh CEO of Cypress
[01:03:43] first time CEO
[01:03:47] we had a proxy. I don't know if you
[01:03:48] recall, but we had a proxy battle
[01:03:52] with TJ at the time.
[01:03:54] Okay.
[01:03:55] And that was they don't teach you that
[01:03:56] stuff in school.
[01:03:57] Mhm.
[01:03:59] And
[01:04:00] personally, I was going through a
[01:04:01] divorce.
[01:04:03] So, these three things
[01:04:05] all on top of each other, I'm like,
[01:04:08] "This is
[01:04:09] going to break somebody." Like
[01:04:12] But that's where the resilience, that's
[01:04:14] where I learned compartmentalization.
[01:04:16] That's what I learned about just focus
[01:04:18] on things I control, you know, my circle
[01:04:20] of control and influence, nothing
[01:04:22] outside of that.
[01:04:24] And that taught me
[01:04:26] a lot about how to approach any problem.
[01:04:30] There's no problem big enough
[01:04:33] if you approach it, you know, calm
[01:04:36] collected
[01:04:37] curious.
[01:04:39] I learned that from a coach I had. So,
[01:04:41] it's not like I didn't make it up, but
[01:04:42] that's an impact back to your first
[01:04:44] question. People that impacted me
[01:04:46] I got an executive coach when I first
[01:04:48] became CEO to help me think through, not
[01:04:50] to do my job, just to communicate to
[01:04:53] 6,000 people from my 200 before.
[01:04:56] And I still use that to this day.
[01:04:59] These are the things that I carry. These
[01:05:01] are challenges that I used
[01:05:04] to grow to the next level
[01:05:06] versus use it as a, you know, beat down.
[01:05:09] Right. It's all for a purpose if you
[01:05:12] take it in that perspective. So, the
[01:05:14] challenges can help motivate you. Yeah.
[01:05:16] It's just another mountain to climb.
[01:05:18] Yeah.
[01:05:19] And so, what what about you know, how do
[01:05:21] you We we talked earlier about how the
[01:05:23] semiconductor industry is the most
[01:05:25] challenging industry. And we're biased,
[01:05:27] right? But it seems like it is.
[01:05:29] And you know, where do how do you escape
[01:05:32] that? How do you replenish and get the
[01:05:34] energy that you need and the the stamina
[01:05:36] that's required to make it in this
[01:05:38] industry? What maybe what role does your
[01:05:40] family play in that? So, family plays a
[01:05:42] big role. It's kind of an anchor. One of
[01:05:45] the things I learned in the challenges,
[01:05:48] you know, what I that I explained when I
[01:05:49] first became CEO
[01:05:52] is
[01:05:53] work-life balance.
[01:05:56] I don't look at work-life balance 50/50
[01:05:58] or 6 It's be present.
[01:06:00] No matter where. If I'm working 90% of
[01:06:03] my waking hours, then be present 90%.
[01:06:06] But that 10% you better be present with
[01:06:08] the family.
[01:06:09] Mhm. So, it's about presence. Okay. Not
[01:06:11] about percentages and all that.
[01:06:14] So, one thing I learned through my
[01:06:16] experience and as I as I grew
[01:06:19] emotionally also
[01:06:21] is just try to be present. As It's all
[01:06:24] It's not easy. It's It's hard in our
[01:06:26] roles.
[01:06:28] But try to be present.
[01:06:30] And that I did it for survival, really.
[01:06:34] But I found it that it actually helps me
[01:06:36] replenish. Mhm. Because when you're
[01:06:38] present, you're
[01:06:39] disconnecting from the chaos.
[01:06:43] So, I have that. The family is is one.
[01:06:46] Uh if the family's not around uh this is
[01:06:49] my
[01:06:50] uh my place. You'll see I never
[01:06:52] you said.
[01:06:53] My my zen. Mhm. Uh
[01:06:56] So, in front of us I have my work shop.
[01:07:00] I work on a lot of cars. I make my own
[01:07:03] boards.
[01:07:04] I design my own PCB. I write my own
[01:07:06] programs. I install in cars.
[01:07:09] There's nothing I won't do.
[01:07:11] And you'll see I have a TV next to the
[01:07:13] car where I work.
[01:07:15] And if I don't know it, I'll go on
[01:07:17] YouTube and learn it. I'm curious enough
[01:07:19] and handy enough that I'll learn how to
[01:07:21] rebuild an engine.
[01:07:23] I won't weld because that's structural
[01:07:25] and I don't trust myself.
[01:07:27] But these are the things that believe it
[01:07:30] or not
[01:07:31] ground me and kind of
[01:07:33] zero me in on to this day.
[01:07:37] I'm an early riser.
[01:07:39] 6:00 a.m. I actually code.
[01:07:42] I write code. Okay, so you created an
[01:07:45] app to manage your cars. I did.
[01:07:47] You know, I was managing cars in Excel,
[01:07:49] and it was such a
[01:07:50] a chore
[01:07:52] and a time sink. So, I created an app.
[01:07:55] And now we launched the app.
[01:07:57] Because why? Because people asked for
[01:07:59] it. And I'm like, "Yeah, sure."
[01:08:00] So, we launched it, but I still use it
[01:08:02] to manage my cars. That's
[01:08:05] But I didn't do it I'm like, "There's
[01:08:07] vibe coding. There's all of that.
[01:08:09] Everybody's talking about it." I'm the
[01:08:10] kind of person I'm going to learn by
[01:08:12] doing.
[01:08:13] Okay. So, I'm like, "But I have to do
[01:08:14] something that I'm passionate about."
[01:08:16] I'm like, "God, I can take my Excel file
[01:08:18] my gigantic complex Excel file
[01:08:21] and see if I can build an app."
[01:08:24] And
[01:08:25] sure enough Just in case you need a
[01:08:26] second career.
[01:08:27] Uh in case I need a second career, I can
[01:08:29] vibe code like a lot of them.
[01:08:32] But yes. That's great. Okay, so this has
[01:08:34] been fabulous. Again, I think that we
[01:08:36] could go on for at least another hour,
[01:08:37] but we'll give our audience a break. And
[01:08:40] I get a tour? Yes. Yes, for sure.
[01:08:44] Highlights some of your favorites? Yes.
[01:08:46] And so, here we go. All right. Okay. So,
[01:08:50] give us the tour. Okay, so this is
[01:08:52] amazing. This is epic. So, you have to
[01:08:55] maybe walk us through some of your
[01:08:56] favorites or some of the stories behind
[01:08:59] these cars. Yeah, so
[01:09:02] every car here either has a story by
[01:09:04] itself or a story for me. Like
[01:09:08] a Corvette, that's a pace car Indy 500
[01:09:11] pace car uh edition.
[01:09:14] I love I go to Indy 500 every year.
[01:09:16] Uh I go to the race. Love it.
[01:09:19] Part of it.
[01:09:20] You guys are um sponsor? We sponsor.
[01:09:22] That's part of Aunt Sammy. Also.
[01:09:25] The one next to it is Burt Reynolds'
[01:09:28] car. Oh, no way. That Okay.
[01:09:30] So, that was his Smokey and the Bandit.
[01:09:32] Yeah. And then you can't have a American
[01:09:34] car
[01:09:36] collection without having Shelby's. Now,
[01:09:39] everybody knows this one. Okay.
[01:09:41] This is actually a Shelby Series 1.
[01:09:43] That's the Carroll Shelby
[01:09:45] car.
[01:09:46] Wow.
[01:09:46] That That he built.
[01:09:49] This originated as an AC Cobra. So,
[01:09:51] again, history.
[01:09:53] That one will unveil not today,
[01:09:56] but that is a very historic vehicle
[01:09:58] that's coming out.
[01:10:01] Mustangs.
[01:10:03] I couldn't get the actual car from
[01:10:05] Bullet.
[01:10:07] But, that's the closest one. That's a
[01:10:10] It's called a KR, GT500 KR for King of
[01:10:13] the Road.
[01:10:15] So, again, you see muscle car
[01:10:17] uh
[01:10:18] That's my 1925
[01:10:20] and 1931 race car. You want to talk
[01:10:22] crazy? People are like, "What What is
[01:10:24] this doing
[01:10:26] in this uh this this collection?"
[01:10:29] But, just think about it.
[01:10:32] Cars were made 1925.
[01:10:36] Now, I'll I'll I I do have to point
[01:10:38] something.
[01:10:38] Okay.
[01:10:39] We talk talk technology. We do
[01:10:41] technology. Okay. This here
[01:10:43] radiator radiator cap.
[01:10:46] That's a mercury thermometer.
[01:10:49] That's the temperature sensor.
[01:10:51] Wow. And the driver will see the mercury
[01:10:55] coming out here. And that's how they
[01:10:56] know if the
[01:10:58] temperature is too high.
[01:11:00] Like
[01:11:01] I live in technology every day.
[01:11:04] I think this is the coolest invention
[01:11:05] ever.
[01:11:06] [laughter]
[01:11:06] That's very cool. So, these are the
[01:11:08] things what like I have to get.
[01:11:11] That's the the sentiment that raises.
[01:11:13] I get it.
[01:11:15] And I love these Broncos. This is like
[01:11:17] my favorite.
[01:11:19] And they're so iconic, Ford brought them
[01:11:22] back.
[01:11:22] So, what do you think about the new one?
[01:11:24] I think I think they did a very good job
[01:11:26] keeping the heritage of the Bronco. It's
[01:11:29] recognizable. It's got the ruggedness. I
[01:11:31] think I think they did a very good job.
[01:11:33] have one that's like that color. Yeah.
[01:11:35] The Bronco. Yeah. Of course. Now, you
[01:11:37] can't
[01:11:37] Back to the future. You can't love
[01:11:39] American if you do not love the Back to
[01:11:43] the Future.
[01:11:45] I do. I love that.
[01:11:47] It's one of my favorite cars.
[01:11:49] So, yeah, like every every guy like I
[01:11:51] grew up watching, you know, Back to the
[01:11:53] Future.
[01:11:53] Yes.
[01:11:54] So,
[01:11:55] every
[01:11:56] thing here
[01:11:58] either created a story in the industry
[01:12:02] or like created an impact on on me.
[01:12:06] Okay. Uh
[01:12:08] the Prowler doesn't belong here.
[01:12:12] But, I remember the day
[01:12:14] it was announced. I was in college in
[01:12:16] Detroit. Mhm.
[01:12:18] And I I remember looking at this car and
[01:12:22] I was like, "This is the most futuristic
[01:12:24] car I've ever seen." You know, open
[01:12:26] wheel front.
[01:12:28] And it didn't do very well.
[01:12:29] I was going to say, do you Do you
[01:12:31] remember Do people drive that? I don't
[01:12:33] do very well. The It's hard to drive.
[01:12:35] It's hard to see. But, okay.
[01:12:37] I love driving it.
[01:12:39] [laughter]
[01:12:39] It's It's actually
[01:12:41] So, this, you know, you got to talk
[01:12:42] about
[01:12:43] Small It's not very fast. But, you got
[01:12:44] to talk about a small dream come true.
[01:12:46] Like I I was there when that came about.
[01:12:50] Mhm. And the industry and the reaction.
[01:12:51] I remember how I felt.
[01:12:53] I'm like, "I want to feel that every
[01:12:55] time I drive this car." So, I got it.
[01:12:57] So, it's not because it's luxurious.
[01:13:00] It brings a feeling
[01:13:03] in me that I want this experience every
[01:13:05] time I drive. And this is this true for
[01:13:07] every any car here. So, I remember also
[01:13:09] that you are a fan of Ferrari and we
[01:13:11] cannot um not talk about Ferrari. Give
[01:13:14] Benedetto a shout out.
[01:13:15] That's right. That's right.
[01:13:15] Okay. And you wanted the um SF90
[01:13:18] when we were in Naples.
[01:13:19] Yeah. Yes.
[01:13:20] When we were Okay. So, you remember how
[01:13:22] long I've had my eye on it? Still.
[01:13:24] Okay.
[01:13:24] So, the car I want to get. And I got my
[01:13:27] eye on on a SF90 Spider, the
[01:13:29] convertible.
[01:13:30] Okay.
[01:13:31] What about uh you going to get the Luce,
[01:13:33] the
[01:13:34] electric?
[01:13:34] Actually Actually, I saw the uh
[01:13:37] You know, we talked earlier about the
[01:13:38] the sound and
[01:13:40] actually like you want to talk about an
[01:13:41] engineering marvel there.
[01:13:43] Okay. The sound, I think, is very unique
[01:13:45] for that. Wow.
[01:13:47] Again, it's going to bring emotions in
[01:13:49] me and I'm going to drive it.
[01:13:50] Okay.
[01:13:51] [laughter]
[01:13:51] We'll get put you on the wait list.
[01:13:52] That's right. I got to I got to get with
[01:13:54] them and be like,
[01:13:55] "Come on, make me a Ferrari guy."
[01:13:57] I'm excited. I think that maybe they're
[01:13:59] going to unveil it in maybe May, June.
[01:14:02] Yeah, that would be That would be great.
[01:14:04] Okay. So, this is special. So, you
[01:14:06] actually work on your own cars as you
[01:14:08] discussed, which I think is fascinating.
[01:14:11] So, this is By the way, this is the car
[01:14:14] This is the first car
[01:14:15] I've ever bought.
[01:14:17] Wow. Uh and this whole collection
[01:14:19] you were in college or out of college? I
[01:14:21] was out of college
[01:14:23] cuz I didn't have any money in college.
[01:14:27] Even 2,500 bucks that I paid for it.
[01:14:30] So, I still have it. I still work on it
[01:14:33] cuz it's always It's It's It's my
[01:14:35] platform. Okay. So, the interior is
[01:14:38] ripped up. There's a hundred wires.
[01:14:40] Let's see if we can get this interior
[01:14:41] over here.
[01:14:44] So, the So, obviously, for a period of
[01:14:46] time, you did drive this. I drive it. I
[01:14:48] still drive it. I mean, that's why it it
[01:14:50] runs. That's why I have the exhaust
[01:14:52] here. So, I don't
[01:14:53] get suffocated with
[01:14:56] But,
[01:14:57] [laughter]
[01:14:59] this looks like it's unmanageable. But,
[01:15:02] I
[01:15:03] will
[01:15:05] uh do all work on my cars.
[01:15:09] I will document it. You can see my label
[01:15:11] maker gets a lot of use because I will
[01:15:14] work on it for an hour, kind of zen.
[01:15:16] And I may leave for a trip for a week.
[01:15:19] And when I come back, I have to know
[01:15:20] exactly where I left things off. So,
[01:15:23] I'll write down like the last thing you
[01:15:24] did was this. So, when I come back, I'm
[01:15:26] like, "Oh, okay. I remember."
[01:15:28] So, I can keep up. So, it's a continuous
[01:15:29] project. It's not a So, I like it. This
[01:15:32] is my workbench here. I do all my own
[01:15:34] electronics.
[01:15:36] I do all my 3D printing.
[01:15:39] So,
[01:15:40] Where's your 3D printer?
[01:15:41] So, Oh, I'll show you. But, like the
[01:15:42] dashboard, okay.
[01:15:45] It's
[01:15:47] 3D printed.
[01:15:49] Oh my gosh. Fingerprint start. You want
[01:15:52] to talk about how I use technology in
[01:15:54] older cars.
[01:15:56] So, screen, fingerprint.
[01:15:58] It's going to go in here.
[01:16:01] And that will go in the car. So, that's
[01:16:03] the new dashboard that I'm working on
[01:16:04] that's going in here. That's why it's
[01:16:05] all The wires are out cuz I'm connecting
[01:16:07] it to my own electronics.
[01:16:10] Which I also do.
[01:16:12] The only thing that changed is now I
[01:16:15] can't see very well. So, I need to get a
[01:16:17] electronic scope
[01:16:18] [laughter]
[01:16:18] so I can see cuz
[01:16:20] my eyesight close is not what it used to
[01:16:23] be.
[01:16:24] But, yeah, so everything I have
[01:16:25] everything I need to work on a car.
[01:16:28] Uh this car is done.
[01:16:31] I'm going to get
[01:16:31] the story behind this?
[01:16:32] So, that's a GT40.
[01:16:34] That's the Le Mans
[01:16:36] uh
[01:16:37] car.
[01:16:38] That's what right It's also right hand
[01:16:40] drive. Okay.
[01:16:42] This is actually very cool. I'll
[01:16:44] So, this is right hand drive, European.
[01:16:47] But, because the drivers were American,
[01:16:50] the shifter is actually
[01:16:52] on the right, also.
[01:16:53] Oh, that's so funny. Yeah.
[01:16:54] still driving normally, you're just
[01:16:56] sitting on the other side. Like
[01:16:58] that's history.
[01:16:59] Yeah, that is so cool. Timmy.
[01:17:02] So,
[01:17:04] that's there. And then, yeah, I'll show
[01:17:05] you the 3D printer.
[01:17:08] Everything I I do is a
[01:17:11] problem
[01:17:12] that I want to solve, whether I know how
[01:17:15] to solve it yet or not, I'll learn.
[01:17:18] So, my 3D printer
[01:17:20] station
[01:17:23] Every color, every material, whatever
[01:17:26] swap, I can get
[01:17:29] any additive manufacturing that I want.
[01:17:33] I will get it done here.
[01:17:34] Wow.
[01:17:36] So, I always have some project going
[01:17:38] just so
[01:17:40] you know, that curiosity, that that
[01:17:42] drive, that
[01:17:44] learning. Like I want to learn something
[01:17:47] new. You know, I always have a TV that I
[01:17:48] connect my
[01:17:50] uh
[01:17:51] laptop to.
[01:17:52] Okay. Cuz I never worked on an engine
[01:17:54] before. And now I'm taking it apart to
[01:17:56] fix something.
[01:17:58] YouTube is a very good college.
[01:18:01] Uh YouTube, somebody was nice enough to
[01:18:03] do something similar and record it and
[01:18:06] post it. And I will learn from them,
[01:18:08] too.
[01:18:09] What are the helmets for?
[01:18:11] So, helmets are racing. So, I do race.
[01:18:15] I race against my own time. So, I don't
[01:18:17] do competitive contact.
[01:18:18] do that here in Austin? You have a
[01:18:19] racetrack? I actually do it in Southern
[01:18:22] California at Thermal. Okay.
[01:18:25] So, I I do race. So, some of them are
[01:18:28] usable.
[01:18:30] The McLaren one was a gift
[01:18:32] from uh McLaren.
[01:18:34] Uh
[01:18:35] So, yeah. I mean, I
[01:18:38] I love the passion. I I I love the
[01:18:40] intensity.
[01:18:41] Uh
[01:18:42] And again, I the community here is is
[01:18:44] great. You know, the
[01:18:46] uh graffiti. Yes. What's the story?
[01:18:49] That's a local artist.
[01:18:50] Okay. I bought one of his paintings.
[01:18:53] But again, back to, you know, you can
[01:18:55] buy a painting and go on and with your
[01:18:57] life. We bought a painting, great guy,
[01:19:00] invited him over. We're just sitting
[01:19:02] here, just chatting.
[01:19:03] And he was showing me some work that he
[01:19:05] did. Jennifer was here and she goes,
[01:19:08] "What about the four walls? You know,
[01:19:10] this and this."
[01:19:12] He's like, "Yeah, we can do that."
[01:19:15] And it turned out I love it. No, I love
[01:19:17] it.
[01:19:18] So,
[01:19:18] again, it's the people you meet. It's
[01:19:21] the stuff you together. I mean, that's
[01:19:23] what you remember. It's the stories,
[01:19:26] it's all that. That's why I I
[01:19:29] That's why I like
[01:19:30] I like that that
[01:19:32] persistent, continuous memory building
[01:19:35] through a journey of of of life.
[01:19:38] But
[01:19:39] nothing else is going to stay with you.
[01:19:42] The stories matter. That's right.
[01:19:44] do. Well, thanks for sharing your story
[01:19:46] in this amazing place. I'm so honored
[01:19:49] and grateful to be here. It was really
[01:19:50] fun.
[01:19:50] It was a pleasure to host. Thanks. Thank
[01:19:52] you.
[01:20:05] [music]