Victor Tsao, Linksys Founder and Tech Pioneer, Joins Illinois Tech’s Board of Trustees
CHICAGO—Victor Tsao (M.S. CS ’81), Illinois Institute of Technology alumnus and co-founder of Linksys, has been elected to the Illinois Tech Board of Trustees. Tsao also serves on Illinois Tech’s newly formed College of Computing Board of Advisors.
Tsao co-founded Linksys, a company that transformed the entire home networking market, paving the way for how we live and work online today. Tsao grew Linksys from a garage startup in 1988 to a home networking leader with more than 300 employees and more than $500 million in annual revenue in 2003 when it was sold to Cisco. Tsao was hired by Cisco as part of the executive team heading the new Linksys division, and remained with the company until 2007 before shifting his focus to Miven, a multi-stage venture that invests in consumer and technology companies, and a portfolio of hedge funds for investing in publicly listed companies.
“Illinois Tech was my first home in the United States when I moved from Taiwan,” says Tsao. “As a trustee, I hope to create the same environment of opportunity and innovation as I experienced all those years ago here in Chicago.”
Tsao and his wife, Janie, co-founder of Linksys, met as students at Taiwan’s Tamkang University, came to Chicago in 1977 so that Tsao could attend graduate school at Illinois Tech, and then moved to California, where they worked for companies such as TRW, Neiman Marcus, and Taco Bell. All the while, they discussed their vision for a line of computer peripherals based around the concept of connectivity, and began development during their free time.
Linksys began with printer-to-PC connectors and slowly expanded to Ethernet hubs, cords, and cards at a price point that small businesses and everyday households could afford, allowing them to connect and share data like never before. Later, during the early expansion of Wi-Fi, Linksys changed the playbook on home internet sharing and created a new lifestyle in home networking. Linksys shaped the way that we connect online as much through technological innovation as through business ingenuity.
“It is impossible to tell the story of the digital age without recognizing the role Victor Tsao played in connecting millions to the internet,” said Raj Echambadi, president of Illinois Tech. “We are now at another crossroads in connectivity—Victor’s experience bridging the digital divide will be invaluable to our mission of expanding the promise and possibility of the future of tech, and I look forward to working with him to continue Illinois Tech’s legacy as a true opportunity engine for all.”
While Tsao served as president and CEO, Linksys led the market in home networking and was listed on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. for seven consecutive years. In acknowledgement of his accomplishments at Linksys, Tsao was inducted into Consumer Electronics’s Hall of Fame in 2014. Tsao was also inducted into the Illinois Tech Hall of Fame and received an honorary degree from Illinois Tech in 2019. Among the many honors that he and his wife have received, some include being named Entrepreneurs of the Year by Inc. Magazine in 2004 and listed among the Top 10 most influential Asian-American business leaders by the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce in 2005. Tsao also received an Illinois Tech Alumni Award for Professional Achievement in 2007.
“Victor Tsao is a visionary in his field,” says Michael P. Galvin (LAW ‘78), chairman of the Illinois Tech Board of Trustees. “We’re honored to work with him to advance the vision of Illinois Tech, empowering our students to create pathways into good jobs and positioning them for future success.”
Tsao has been the managing partner of various family office investment entities since 2003. In this role, he is ultimately responsible for the assets under management that are allocated across a wide range of asset types: cash, commodities, currency, fixed income, private equity, public equity, real estate, and venture capital. He has extensive experience in financial modeling and risk management, and allocates capital both directly and through private placement vehicles.
Tsao has also been a longtime advocate and donor in giving back to the community through charitable giving. He created the Tsao Family Foundation in 2004 to support religious, charitable, scientific, literary, cultural, and educational causes. The Tsao Family Foundation has made millions of dollars in grants to other 501(c) organizations in pursuit of making the world a better place. Tsao retired from corporate life in 2007, and remains active in technology through investments and philanthropy.
“Victor’s expertise in marrying business innovation with technological advancement dovetails with our guiding principles at Illinois Tech,” says Ernie Iseminger, vice president for advancement at Illinois Tech. “But it is his passionate work to expand the talent pipeline that really speaks to the central purpose of Illinois Tech as an engine of opportunity here in Chicago .”
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, also known as Illinois Tech, is a private, technology-focused research university. Illinois Tech is the only university of its kind in Chicago, and its Chicago location offers students access to the world-class resources of a great global metropolis. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, computing, architecture, business, design, science and human sciences, and law. One of 22 institutions that comprise the Association of Independent Technological Universities, Illinois Tech provides an exceptional education centered on active learning, and its graduates lead the state and much of the nation in economic prosperity. Illinois Tech uniquely prepares students to succeed in professions that require technological sophistication, an innovative mindset, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Visit iit.edu.
