Quiet POWER.

The article focuses on the leadership of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) chief executive officer Hector Ruiz. Ruiz has made AMD a better competitor, reenergized employees and brought stability by focusing on fundamentals. AMD acquired microprocessor vendor Nexgen and created the K6 by using the company's multiprocessor core. However, K6 was not pin-compatible with Intel chips although it was technically solid. Ruiz is soft-spoken and reserved and had traveled a long path to the top of the semiconductor industry. Born in Piedras Negras, Mexico, he attended high school across the river in Texas, where he became the valedictorian. He got his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering at the University of Texas, while he got his doctorate in electronics at Rice University in 1973. INSET: Ruiz's legacy.