Breaking Through the Silicon Ceiling

Breaking Through the Silicon Ceiling takes the reader on the amazing journey of Chris King's life and her rise from being a poor, uneducated, 20-year-old single mom to being the world's first female CEO of a semiconductor company. In a story full of twists and turns, the reader is carried through emotional highs and lows, and given the gift of learning what Chris had to learn through trial and error - that success in business is not dictated by your demographic or the types of challenges that life might throw at you. The seeds of success are within you. In Breaking Through the Silicon Ceiling, we follow Chris on her path from the trailer park to the boardroom, and we learn the 12 essential principles that guided her along the way. Chris' principles are hard-earned truths that have been proven time and again in her professional, avocational, and personal lives. This book will encourage and empower you to discern and chart your own path to greater success in business and life.

About the Author:

Christine “Chris” King, was a tenacious 20-year-old single mother facing limited prospects in 1970, who shattered expectations as she rose to become the world's first female CEO in the semiconductor industry. Fueled by innate abilities, unwavering principles, unbridled passion, and indomitable grit, she overcame tremendous adversity to earn degrees in electrical engineering and successfully navigate the ranks at IBM to eventually lead billion-dollar enterprises. 

Her journey continued with the role of President and CEO at AMI Semiconductor, a company later acquired by ON Semiconductor in 2008. Following this success, she took the reins at Standard Microsystems and assumed the position of Executive Chairman at QLogic Corporation, showcasing her dynamic leadership in diverse sectors of the technology landscape. Today, she continues to sit on the Boards of Directors for Skyworks and Henry Schein One, where she continues to help organizations navigate tremendous change and achieve new levels of success.

Her impressive leadership career, spanning engineering, sales, and business management, includes a venture into entrepreneurship when she launched Expedition Electronics. Beyond technology, Chris excelled in dairy farming and cow cutting, achieving championship status in both. Her diverse accomplishments are detailed in her new book, Breaking Through the Silicon Ceiling.

Chris holds two associate degrees and a Bachelor of Science.