In the constellation of Taiwan's tech industry, the Pan Wen-Yuan Award stands as one of the highest lifetime achievement honors. When Macronix Chairman Wu Minqiu received the 19th Pan Wen-Yuan Award, this semiconductor veteran dubbed the "Iron Man Chairman" reclaimed the spotlight alongside industry titans like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing founder Morris Chang and MediaTek Chairman Tsai Ming-kai. Yet Wu's legend began far from the limelight—it's an epic of vision, stubbornness, and survival.
Forged in Adversity Born in Anhui in 1948, Wu fled to Taiwan with his parents as an infant. As the eldest son in poverty, he developed extraordinary resilience. During his electrical engineering studies at National Cheng Kung University, he would skip fourth-period classes every Monday just to be first in line for free bone broth at the cafeteria—a formative experience that shaped his indomitable "iron man" spirit.
After earning a master's in materials science from Stanford in 1973, Wu built his expertise at Intel and other top semiconductor firms. But at the height of his corporate career, he conceived an audacious plan.
The Gamble In 1989, the 41-year-old shocked colleagues by resigning from Intel to lead 40 Silicon Valley engineers back to Taiwan to found Macronix. With Taiwan's semiconductor industry still nascent, Wu risked everything—signing personal loan guarantees that could have "turned his life black and white." After initial fundraising failures, venture capitalist Hu Dinghua invested NT$800 million, enabling Macronix's launch as one of Taiwan's first fully market-driven chipmakers.
Contrarian Vision Defying Intel's playbook, Wu bet on self-developed non-volatile memory technology during its niche years. The gamble paid off when consumer electronics exploded in 1999, making Macronix one of the world's fastest-growing chip firms. Wu became the first Taiwan entrepreneur featured on Forbes' cover in June 1998.
Yet crisis loomed. From 2012-2017, Macronix lost NT$23 billion cumulatively. Wu's iron resolve shone through—rejecting layoffs while maintaining R&D, working 7-day weeks, and circling the globe bi-monthly to visit clients even during heart surgery recovery. "I call it a miracle," he later said.
Phoenix Rising The turnaround came through technological perseverance. Macronix became Taiwan's first memory chipmaker with full in-house design, manufacturing, and testing capabilities. Clients like Nintendo and Apple validated Wu's strategy, establishing Macronix as a "hidden champion" in NOR Flash for 5G and IoT applications.
Beyond Business Though called "Iron Man," Wu prioritized human capital—building comprehensive talent development systems while actively supporting social causes. The Pan Wen-Yuan Award recognizes not just personal achievement but Taiwan's transition from technology importer to innovator.
Now in his 70s, Wu continues leading Macronix's advances in 3D NAND and NOR Flash. His journey—from bone broth to Forbes, from five-year losses to market leadership—epitomizes the tenacity required to build Taiwan's semiconductor industry. In this global battleground, Wu's legacy reminds us that true innovation demands lonely perseverance, and legends are forged with an iron will.
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