Billionaire CEO holds meetings on weekends, sends feedback after midnight: ‘I believe leaders are...’

Chairperson and CEO of AMD Lisa Su (second from left) was named Time's CEO of the year in 2024. (Image credit: AFP)

As companies worldwide experiment with four-day workweeks and “right to disconnect” policies, billionaire AMD chief executive Lisa Su is taking a different route—holding weekend meetings and sending feedback after midnight, Fortune reported. The 55-year-old, named Time’s CEO of the Year for 2024, has built a reputation for her demanding leadership style, which she says is driven by ambitious goals.

When Su took over AMD in 2014, the chipmaker was struggling, with shares trading at $3 and the company cutting 25 percent of its workforce. Today, AMD is valued at $201 billion, competing with Intel and Nvidia. Its stock trades around $125, and Su’s net worth soared after a 120 percent rise in AMD’s share price this year pushed her onto Forbes’ billionaire list.

According to Fortune, Su regularly holds weekend meetings with her senior team and calls managers early in the morning to discuss memos sent after midnight. An AMD spokesperson clarified that one such instance involved Su providing feedback on a lengthy slide deck late at night to ensure a productive discussion the next morning.

Su told Time: “People are really motivated by ambitious goals. The previous strategy of, hey, let’s just do a little bit better here and there—that’s actually less motivational.” She added: “I don’t believe leaders are born. I believe leaders are trained.”

Not all leaders share Su’s approach. Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph recently recirculated a LinkedIn post about his strict work-life boundary: every Tuesday at 5 pm, he walked out—no exceptions. “Nothing got in the way of that. No meeting, no conference call, no last-minute question or request,” Randolph wrote, adding that those evenings kept him sane and gave perspective.