Hector Ruiz  Hector de Jesus Ruiz Cardenas (born December 25, 1945) is the chairman and CEO of [ Advanced Nanotechnology Solutions, Inc.] and former CEO & executive chairman of semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). Ruiz is the author of "Slingshot: AMD’s Fight To Free An Industry From The Ruthless Grip Of Intel", "a book that memorializes his bet-the-company decision in 2005 to file an antitrust case against its much larger rival." The book also "elaborates on his humble upbringing as well as advice and lessons learned from relatives and teachers." Ruiz was born in the border town of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. As a teenager, he walked across the Mexico – United States border every day to attend a high school in nearby Eagle Pass, Texas, from which he graduated as valedictorian just three years after beginning to learn English. Ruiz earned a B.S. and M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1968 and 1970 respectively and a Ph.D. from Rice University in 1973. In 2012, Ruiz—along with former First Lady Laura Bush, Charles Matthews, Melinda Perrin, Julius Glickman and Admiral William H. McRaven—was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas. Ruiz worked at Texas Instruments for six years and Motorola for 22 years, rising to become president of Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector before being recruited in 2000 by AMD founder Jerry Sanders to serve as AMD's president and chief operating officer, and to become heir apparent to lead the company upon Sanders' retirement. Ruiz succeeded Sanders in the CEO's seat in 2002, and was named chairman of the board in 2004. Ruiz endorsed the decision to buy ATI, which led to a period of financial reverses. Ruiz survived rumors of his ouster in late 2007. However, he resigned as CEO on July 18, 2008, after AMD reported its seventh consecutive quarterly loss. Ruiz took AMD "off death watch," according to a leading industry analyst. As CEO, Ruiz led AMD to "important technical accomplishments and strides in its competition against Intel," but " he was never able to stanch the company's persistent financial losses." Analyst Rob Enderle gives Ruiz credit for the strategy to spin off the manufacturing operations, "relieving AMD of the cost of running chip plants and allowing more focus on chip design." Ruiz was behind the deal in which an Abu Dhabi government arm funded the new venture.