Committee of 100 member and tech executive Albert Y.C. Yu passed away peacefully at the age of 76 on March 11, 2017 in Palo Alto, California.
Dr. Yu was born in Shanghai, China, in 1941 and grew up there and in Taiwan. In 1963, he emigrated to California to study electrical engineering at CalTech and later Stanford University, where he received his PhD (1967).
Dr. Yu was recruited by Intel Corporation, ultimately becoming Senior Vice President, member of the Corporate Management Committee, and General Manager of the heart of Intel’s business: microprocessors, chipsets, and software ($25B) for over 16 years. Under his leadership, Intel’s microprocessors from 386TM to the Pentium 4 and Pentium M Processors have become the highest volume microchips that power the computers and the Internet and propelled Intel to be the largest semiconductor company in the world. He was also in charge of Intel corporate strategy that led to its entry into the optoelectronics business and its extensive international expansions. Dr. Yu retired from Intel Corporation in late 2002, after almost 30 years with the company.
Dr. Yu served on the boards of a number of high technology companies, Venture Capital firms and non-profit organizations. He received the Distinguished Life Time Achievement Award from CIE-USA in Feb. ’06 for his leadership of Intel’s microprocessor success for over 16 years. Yu has published over 30 technical papers and two bestselling books: Insider’s View of Intel (1995) and Creating the Digital Future (1998).
He made his home in Northern California and joined C100 in 1997. Ken Fong, C100 Northern California Regional Chair, remembers Dr. Yu as an outstanding speaker, having seen him take the stage many times at the Asia America MultiTechnology Association (AAMA) in Silicon Valley during the 1980s.
“Few could match the combined talents of technical intelligence and business acumen that Albert showed the world,” Fong said.
Dr. Yu will be greatly missed by his wife, Mary Bechmann, his children (from a previous marriage) Laurence and Audrey, and four grandchildren.
Read his obituary, published in the New York Times on March 26, 2017.