Nvidia and AMD leaders join advisory board at Tsinghua business school

Nvidia founder and chief executive Jensen Huang and AMD chief executive Lisa Su have joined the advisory board of Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management, according to the school’s official social media account. The two American semiconductor executives were appointed alongside Marc Pictet, senior managing partner of Swiss wealth and asset manager Pictet Group. The appointments place the heads of two major advanced artificial intelligence chip suppliers on a board that links international business leaders with China’s academic and policy communities.

Tsinghua described Huang as the founder of Nvidia and credited Su with transforming AMD into a leading high-performance computing company. Both companies have sought to preserve access to China, one of the world’s largest semiconductor markets, while dealing with increasingly complex restrictions imposed by Washington and Beijing. The appointments come amid continuing US-China tensions over chips and technology.

Huang and Su were among American business executives who attended a White House state dinner during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington the previous week. Tsinghua’s advisory board was established in 2000 with the backing of former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji. The university describes it as a platform for links with business and academic communities, and for supporting research, teaching and the school’s international ambitions.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook has chaired the board since 2019, while former Chinese vice-president Wang Qishan is its honorary chairman. Other executives are joining as successors to previous members, including leaders from BMW, Walmart, Coca-Cola, General Atlantic and BP. The school is scheduled to hold its 27th annual advisory board meeting in Beijing on October 13 and 14.