Interview with Lam Research | FGC2023Singapore

And one of our biggest supporters who has helped us make all of this possible is our title sponsor, Lam Research. We saw a short video about them play at the beginning of today's broadcast, and we are pleased to have two people from Lam Research joining us now in the booth. Tim Archer is the president and CEO at Lam Research. He has also served on several corporate and nonprofit boards, including the National Consortium for Graduate Engineering Degrees for Minorities, also referred to as GEM, which is dedicated to increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in engineering and science at the master's and doctoral levels. And Stacey Macneil is the chief communications officer and group vice president of ESG at Lam Research, leading both the company's overall communication strategy and its nonprofit arm, the Lam Foundation. She currently sits on the GEM board as well. Welcome to you both, it's a pleasure to have you here.

Thank you, it's great to be here. Great to be here.

So I want to start by thanking you so much for everything that Lam Research has done to make this event possible. Now that you're here, seeing this event in action, how does it feel to help the world convene in the name of STEM?

Well, I just spent time down in the pits meeting with a lot of the teams, and I would just have to say that it is so inspiring to meet these students that come from all over the world and to see the passion that they have to learn and to innovate and to solve problems, but also more importantly to work together and to meet others around the world. And so for us, as a company trying to be a good corporate citizen, it just really makes us feel great about what we're able to do and give back here.

Wonderful. And can you both tell us how the generous support that you've lent fits into Lam's goals and aspirations? Like, what are you hoping to accomplish by supporting FIRST Global and the FIRST Global Challenge?

So Lam Research brings a unique perspective to STEM as a major player in the semiconductor industry. I'd like to know, what advice would you like to give to aspiring scientists and engineers who would like to work at the cutting edge of technology?

Sure. Well, first is of course to dream big. The world has a lot of problems, and as I said last night, I think technology really is the key to solving many of those big issues. And so it's to think about what it is you'd like to accomplish and then set out to do it. And you see that so much in dealing with these students. At Lam, we employ just about every type of engineer, and so regardless of whether your interest is in software engineering or mechanical engineering or chemical engineering, you have the ability to participate and really help solve, in this team environment, these big problems in the world.

And is there any other type of message that you'd want to send out to viewers from across the globe, frankly, that are tuning in and watching this right now about Lam Research's work, its charitable initiatives, its mission? I know that yesterday I loved the verbiage that you had used and that the company uses, which is 'Let's prove it.' I would love to know where that originated from, how that mission lives out in every day of Lam Research and how you operate.

I think I referenced you can talk the talk, but walking the walk is something categorically different. And I'm so pleased and certainly blessed, as we are at FIRST Global, to know that you're doing just that. So thank you so much for all the support you've given us over time. And we certainly know that when we talk about credibility, this event has built its credibility over the past seven years. We're excited to see where it goes, and certainly with your support, that's not a small thing. And Tim, talking about results, I mean this is the first initiative that you guys have supported in regards to pushing STEM towards the youth and the world in general. I'd like to know, have you seen any changes in the world in general or the engineers that come working to you as a result from the programs that you guys support?

I think we see a more well-rounded individual. We are very big on diversity and inclusion, and so I think that the engineers and the employees that come are really centered in a purpose. They really want to not only contribute to the company but they want to contribute to the world. And we want to make sure that we're there to support our employees to do just that.

It's certainly a two-way street. I would argue, as a teacher myself, what I try to preach to my students is anything that's worth working towards is a work in progress. And I suspect that you're doing the same thing at Lam Research. It's been growing over time, your scope, your reach has also grown over time, as has this competition. What is the next step for you all?

And you're talking about looking at all different kinds of engineers, right? And that to me is such an important piece because we all have such differences, but yet we can all contribute. What are some of the intangibles that you look for in the employees that you hire? What are some of, not the skill sets necessarily, but those intangibles, those character pieces? What do you look for?

I think you just have to look at the core values of Lam Research. It spells it out. We focus on things like achievement, teamwork, collaboration, honesty, and integrity. These are things that make you a great employee in a tech company, and those are the kinds of things that really are core to the right type of employee. And I would also say curiosity. I think that one of the secrets to evolving is to maintain that curiosity and make sure that you're asking questions. So we want our employees to be inquisitive, we want them to be problem solvers, we want them to understand that they are empowered to take the lead and to actually solve and come up with their own ideas. So it is those additional characteristics that we also look for.

Great. Well, thank you again both of you and to Lam Research company for everything you've done for making this event possible. And now...