Chong-Moon Lee

Chong-Moon Lee founded Diamond Multimedia Systems in 1982, which later achieved the No. 1 ranking in revenue and market share for PC graphics accelerator product in America (by IDC Computer Industry report, 1995). Diamond Multimedia was ranked the 17th- and 18th-fastest-growing privately held company in America for 1993 and 1994 on Inc. magazine’s 500 fastest-growing companies list, and as the 8th-fastest-growing privately held company in Silicon Valley by the Business Journal of San Jose in 1993. As the founder, it took 13 years of struggles to take the company to its successful IPO in early 1995. In 1996, he started another high-technology venture company under the name of AmBex Venture Group. Since then, active investments have been made in the areas of wireless communication, voice over IP applications, Internet infrastructures, network security, and multimedia applications. A native of South Korea, Mr. Lee has a diverse background involving not only business, but educational, cultural, and athletic activities. Prior to founding Diamond, he served as a librarian, a university professor, a board member of UNESCO Korea Chapter and Olympic Committee of Korea. Currently, he serves as a trustee and commissioner of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, a trustee of Asia Society, and a member of California Arts Council, among many others. He is also a founding board member of the Tech Museum of Innovation of San Jose. Mr. Lee also has been an active philanthropist in the local, national, as well as international levels through the Chong-Moon Lee Foundation. As one of the widely known examples, the foundation donated $16 million to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, which then named the museum the "Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture." The Asian Art Museum is the largest museum of its kind in the world outside Asia. In March 2003, the museum moved to the beautifully renovated former city library building next to San Francisco City Hall and immediately became the undisputed focal point of San Francisco's cultural scenery. Mr. Lee also supports many educational and cultural institutions, such as universities, hospitals, and social services organizations. As a consulting professor at the Asia-Pacific Research Center of Stanford University, Lee coedited The Silicon Valley Edge (Stanford University Press, 2000). He is also an adviser to the Stanford Technology Venture Program at Stanford University. He urges that engineers should have business minds and skills to become successful entrepreneurs. To this end, he established the Center for Science-based Entrepreneurship at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Mr. Lee holds honorary doctorate degrees from John F. Kennedy University, Seton Hall University, University of Seoul, and Chung Ang University in Seoul, an M.S. in library science from Vanderbilt University, and a law degree from Chung Ang University. He has received numerous accolades for outstanding leadership in business and civic areas, including the Order of Civil Merits (Mugungwha Medal) from the president of Korea, which is the highest medal of honor conferred to a civilian.