In 1989, Min Kao and another engineer, the late Gary Burrell, pooled their savings and convinced Kao’s relatives to invest in a new company. Working out of an office that started with just two folding chairs, they founded Garmin, a portmanteau of their first names. It is now a multibillion-dollar company employing more than 17,000 people — a world leader in producing consumer navigation devices.
Kao has helped build technology for organizations such as the U.S. Army and NASA. A multibillionaire who has been profiled by Forbes and others, he attributes his success to being part of a larger team. “Ideas can come from anybody,” he told the Wichita Eagle newspaper. “Our people,” says Kao, “are the most valuable asset we have.… Diversity is an integral part of who we are as a company, and our success is a result of people with different backgrounds and experiences coming together to offer their best.” He has stepped down as CEO of Garmin and now serves as its executive chairman.
Kao, who grew up in a small Taiwanese town and served in Taiwan’s navy, came to the United States on a student visa. He earned master’s and doctorate degrees in engineering from the University of Tennessee, going on to make the largest private donation in the school's history. Speaking about his decision to fund construction of a new building to house the university’s departments of electrical engineering and computer science, Kao observed, “It is my hope that this building will inspire its graduates to develop and pursue ideas that will create jobs and shape the world.”
