Ann Kelleher facts for kids

Ann B. Kelleher is an amazing engineer and a very important leader at a company called Intel. She grew up in a place called Knockraheen, near Macroom in County Cork, Ireland.

Ann leads Intel's Technology Development Team. This team works on making super tiny parts for computer chips, like those that are 5 nanometers (nm) and 7 nm big. To give you an idea, a nanometer is one billionth of a meter – that's incredibly small! She reports directly to the boss of Intel. Ann was also the first Irish woman to become a vice-president at Intel, which is a very big deal!

Ann Kelleher's Journey

Early Life and Education

Ann Kelleher grew up in Macroom, Ireland. Her dad was a farmer. Her parents really encouraged her to study maths and science in school. Because of this, Ann decided to study engineering at University College Cork (UCC). In her class of 55 students, only five were girls, including her!

She focused on electrical engineering and finished her first degree in 1987. Instead of taking a job, Ann decided to continue her studies. She earned her Master's degree in electrical engineering in 1989. Then, in 1993, she made history by becoming the first woman ever to get a PhD from Ireland's National Microelectronics Research Centre (NMRC) at UCC. After her PhD, she led a special group at Tyndall (which NMRC became part of) from 1993 to 1996.

Starting Her Career at Intel

In 1996, Ann Kelleher joined Intel Ireland in Leixlip, County Kildare. She started as a process engineer, helping to make computer chips. She quickly moved up in the company.

Her first big leadership role was as the manager of Fab 24 in Leixlip when it opened in 2006. A "Fab" is a factory where semiconductors (materials used to make computer chips) are made. This factory was Intel's first chip factory in Europe to use advanced 65 nm technology.

In 2008, Ann moved to the USA to become the plant manager at Intel's Fab 12 factory in Chandler, Arizona. She also managed another Intel factory, Fab 11X, in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, for a while. By 2015, she had moved to Portland, Oregon, where she lives today.

Leading the Way at Intel

Ann Kelleher was once the general manager of the Fab/Sort Manufacturing team. In this role, she was in charge of everything to do with making huge amounts of silicon computer chips for Intel.

In 2011, Ann became the first Irish woman to be named a vice president at Intel. This means she became one of the top leaders in the company. In January 2018, she was promoted again to senior vice-president of the Technology and Manufacturing Group. This group has about 30,000 people! Her work included making sure products were high quality, that customers received their orders, managing the supply chain (how products get from the factory to customers), and planning for Intel's factories all over the world.

In 2018, Ann was one of 25 women recognized in the "Ireland's Most Powerful Women Awards." Later that year, Forbes magazine even suggested she would be a great person to lead other big technology companies because of her experience in making high-tech products in large numbers.

On July 27, 2020, Intel changed how some of its teams were organized. Ann Kelleher was chosen to lead the Technology Development Team. She had already shown amazing leadership by keeping Intel's factories running during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also helped increase how many chips Intel could make and sped up the production of Intel's 10 nm chips.

Encouraging Girls in STEM

Ann Kelleher is a strong supporter of women working in engineering and becoming leaders in the technology world. She believes that more girls should study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects in school and university. Ann also encourages more women to apply for important leadership jobs.

Personal Life

Ann Kelleher travels to Asia and Europe a few times each year for her work. She also makes sure to visit her family home.