DAVID SUN
Chief Operating Officer, Vice President
Kingston Technology Co.
Fountain Valley
Born in Taichung, Taiwan
Age: 67
Lives in Irvine
JOHN TU
Chief Executive
Kingston Technology Co.
Fountain Valley
Born in Chongqing, China
Age: 77
Lives in Rolling Hills
WHY: Co-leaders of top memory products maker for computers, consumer electronics. Run county’s biggest third-largest private company after PacLife, Golden State Foods. Revenue approaches $7 billion annually. Employs about 650 in OC, 3,000 worldwide. Plants in Fountain Valley, Taiwan, mainland China.
HOW: Started computer maker Camintonn in early 1980s in garage. Became division vice presidents when former computer maker AST Research bought it. Left to start Kingston in 1987 after losing millions in stock market crash. Famous for giving $100 million to workers after selling 80% of Kingston to Softbank for $1.5 billion in 1990s. Pair bought Kingston back in 1999 for $450 million. Sun oversees U.S., Far East operations; Tu handles Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America.
RECENT: HyperX, the high-performance gaming division of Kingston, making waves in online gaming circles; company sponsors the country’s largest esports arena, in Las Vegas’ Luxor casino. Was part of consortium that paid $18 billion a year ago for Toshiba Corp.’s flash memory business.
FAST FACT: Kingston celebrated its 31st anniversary last October with a 31% off sale for a large portion of its product line.
QUOTABLE: “It is ironic that from the biggest financial failure came my most successful venture,” Tu said of Kington’s origins.
PERSONAL: Sun emigrated from Taiwan in 1977, was chief engineer at Alpha Microsystems in Costa Mesa 1978 to 1982. Lively, unconventional operations man. Tu’s family fled Communist China for Taiwan in 1949. Avid golfer. Electrical engineering degree from Tatung Institute of Technology in Taiwan. Married, two children. Son, Donald, heads Costa Mesa-based Association of Volleyball Players pro circuit. Tu sent to Germany as kid to live with uncle who owned Chinese restaurant. Admits he “doesn’t like to study,” expelled from several high schools. Came to U.S. in 1972. Electrical engineering degree from Technische Hochschule Darmstadt in Germany. University of California-Irvine cancer diagnostic center named for him, friend Tom Yuen, co-founder, AST Research. Funny, soft-spoken public face of company. Loves Elvis. Heads JT and California Dreamin’ band. Plays drums. Collects cars. Investor in Yuen’s stem cell startup PrimeGen Biotech.
