Hock Tan has led Broadcom as president and CEO since 2006. Under his leadership, the company has used major acquisitions to expand across semiconductors and infrastructure software, including its acquisition of VMware. — Broadcom: VMware Acquisition Announcement.

Infographic for "Lessons from Hock Tan".

On Business Strategy and Acquisitions

  1. Run product divisions with autonomy: Tan says Broadcom's product divisions have their own management teams and operate fairly independently, while sharing support services. — CCS Insight Podcast: Hock Tan.
  2. Resource integration after acquisitions: In a letter jointly signed with Tom Krause, Tan described Broadcom's intention to integrate VMware and provide resources for its development. This was the company's stated plan, not proof that integration would succeed. — Broadcom–VMware Employee Letter.
  3. Reward long-term owners while investing: In a 2022 CNBC interview, Tan said Broadcom sought to reward shareholders through dividends while retaining capital for acquisitions and growth. — CNBC Interview: Hock Tan on VMware.
  4. Balance dividends and deal capacity: Tan described Broadcom's 2022 policy of returning about half of free cash flow through dividends and keeping the remainder available for growth, including acquisitions. The split was a company policy at that time, not a universal formula. — CNBC Interview: Hock Tan on VMware.
  5. Focus on the deal at hand: Asked what Broadcom might buy after VMware, Tan said he expected other opportunities but was focused on completing the VMware transaction. — CNBC Interview: Hock Tan on VMware.
  6. Focus a software model on established customers: For the CA acquisition, Tan described shifting sales effort toward renewing and expanding products among the company's largest 500 existing accounts; he did not say Broadcom would abandon every smaller customer. — Broadcom Q4 FY2018 Earnings Call Transcript.
  7. Use acquisitions to expand the platform: Tan describes M&A as central to Broadcom's expansion into infrastructure technology; the VMware deal was presented as a combination of its semiconductor and software businesses. — Broadcom: VMware Acquisition Announcement.
  8. Acquire critical technology businesses: Tan says Broadcom evaluates an acquisition on its own technology and opportunity, looking for products that matter to customers and can keep improving. — CCS Insight Podcast: Hock Tan.
  9. Match spending to the acquired business model: Tan said Broadcom planned to cut CA's annual spending substantially as it moved from a broad new-customer sales motion to renewing and expanding within established accounts. That was his CA integration plan, not a rule for every acquisition. — Broadcom Q4 FY2018 Earnings Call Transcript.

On Leadership and Management

  1. Value the people around you: Tan says one of the rewards of leading Broadcom is working with colleagues he considers exceptionally smart and creative. — Broadcom: Get to Know Hock Tan.
  2. Treat success as a team effort: Tan calls Broadcom's workforce its most valuable asset and describes company success as a team effort. — Broadcom: Get to Know Hock Tan.
  3. State the shared operating values: Tan and Tom Krause told VMware employees that Broadcom prioritized accountability to customers, partners, shareholders and colleagues while planning the integration. — Broadcom–VMware Employee Letter.
  4. A cross-industry career: Before Broadcom, Tan held management and finance roles at General Motors, PepsiCo, a venture-capital fund and several technology companies. His route to semiconductor leadership was not confined to one industry. — Broadcom: Hock Tan Biography.
  5. Acknowledge and learn from mistakes: In a 2023 CCS Insight interview, Tan acknowledged that his time leading Broadcom had included mistakes and said he had learned from them. — CCS Insight: Broadcom CEO Reveals Plans for VMware Growth.
  6. Invest for a multiyear product transition: In 2023, Tan proposed incremental annual spending on VMware research and professional services, while acknowledging that adoption of the private-cloud strategy would take time. — Hock Tan: Accelerating VMware's Growth.

On Innovation and Technology

  1. Improve technology generation by generation: Tan describes innovation as successive product generations that improve power, speed, bandwidth and features, guided by what customers need next. — CCS Insight Podcast: Hock Tan.
  2. A private-cloud thesis: At VMware Explore 2024, Tan argued that private cloud and private AI built on an enterprise's own data would be central to its future. That is his strategic view, not a settled prediction. — Hock Tan: Future of the Enterprise Is Private.
  3. Bring a cloud operating model on premises: Tan describes VMware Cloud Foundation as giving enterprises public-cloud-like agility and scale with private-cloud security and resilience. — Hock Tan: VMware's First 100 Days.
  4. Integrate the private-cloud stack: Tan presents VCF as one software-defined platform for compute, networking, storage and management so customers can operate their own private cloud. — Hock Tan: VMware's First 100 Days.
  5. Improve products over time: Tan described Broadcom's model as investing to add lasting value to products and improve them over time, including in infrastructure software. — FedScoop Interview: Hock Tan.
  6. Simplify a complex portfolio: Tan says Broadcom reorganized VMware's portfolio and sales approach to make its products easier to buy, deploy and use; he presents this as the intent of the changes. — Hock Tan: VMware's First 100 Days.
  7. Address cost, complexity and compliance: Broadcom's VMware team positions a unified private-cloud platform as a way to manage costs, reduce operational complexity and support compliance. This is the company's product case, distinct from proof that every enterprise should move. — VMware: Introducing Cloud Foundation 9.

On Customers and Partners

  1. Serve three stakeholder groups: Tan framed Broadcom's obligations around customers, employees' opportunities and consistent value for shareholders. — CNBC Interview: Hock Tan on VMware.
  2. Customer success needs partner success: Tan argues that Broadcom cannot deliver strong customer outcomes without enabling its ecosystem partners to succeed. — Hock Tan: Unlocking Value and Success for Partners.
  3. Grow the ecosystem to grow the business: Tan says partner growth supports Broadcom's growth, including by extending the reach and usefulness of its technology. — Hock Tan: Unlocking Value and Success for Partners.
  4. Tie partner success to customer outcomes: Tan says Broadcom's aim is to deliver better outcomes for customers of different sizes while treating partners' success as part of its own. — Hock Tan: Unlocking Value and Success for Partners.
  5. Acknowledge disruption to customers: Tan acknowledged that Broadcom's rapid post-acquisition changes at VMware had created unease among customers and partners, even while defending their intended benefits. — Hock Tan: VMware's First 100 Days.
  6. Make customer value the test: Tan said the VMware portfolio overhaul was meant to increase customer value and reduce friction; the statement describes Broadcom's aim, not evidence that every customer benefited. — Hock Tan: VMware's First 100 Days.
  7. Build partner capacity at scale: In 2023, Tan said Broadcom's IT-infrastructure and cybersecurity software ecosystem included more than 35,000 partners spanning distribution, deployment and support; he saw them as extending the company's ability to serve customers. — Hock Tan: Unlocking Value and Success for Partners.

On His Personal Journey and Philanthropy

  1. Education opened the door: Tan says he came from Malaysia to the United States in 1971 on a scholarship to study at MIT. — Broadcom: Get to Know Hock Tan.
  2. MIT's effect on his life: Tan credits MIT with opening doors and making his own American career possible. — Broadcom: Get to Know Hock Tan.
  3. Give back after good fortune: Tan says gratitude for his opportunities is a reason he gives back to communities and institutions. — Broadcom: Get to Know Hock Tan.
  4. A personal reason to support autism research: Tan says autism research matters to his family because two of his children have autism; he and his family have supported research and programs for people with disabilities. — Broadcom: Get to Know Hock Tan.

On the Future and Market Dynamics

  1. Support customers' digital expansion: Tan says Broadcom's technology partnerships can help customers expand their digital footprint while improving efficiency and productivity. — Hock Tan: Providing Value to Customers.
  2. Plan for semiconductor cycles: During a 2019 semiconductor downturn, Tan described Broadcom's chip business as working through a cyclical correction while its infrastructure-software segment helped offset the weakness. — Broadcom Q4 FY2019 Results.
  3. Serve hyperscaler AI demand: In Broadcom's first-quarter 2024 results, Tan identified custom AI accelerators for hyperscalers, alongside AI data-center networking, as semiconductor growth drivers. — Broadcom Q1 FY2024 Results.

Learn more:

  1. Broadcom: Hock E. Tan — President and CEO
  2. Broadcom to Acquire VMware for Approximately $61 Billion
  3. CCS Insight Podcast: Hock Tan on VMware Growth and Partners — SEC-Filed Transcript
  4. CNBC Interview with Hock Tan on VMware and Capital Allocation — SEC-Filed Transcript
  5. Broadcom Q4 FY2018 Earnings Call Transcript: CA Integration and Customer Strategy
  6. Broadcom Employee Q&A: Get to Know Hock Tan — SEC Filing
  7. Hock Tan: Unlocking Value and Success for Partners
  8. Broadcom–VMware Employee Letter from Hock Tan and Tom Krause — SEC Filing
  9. Hock Tan: VMware by Broadcom — The First 100 Days
  10. CCS Insight: Broadcom CEO Reveals Plans for VMware Growth
  11. Hock Tan: Accelerating VMware's Growth
  12. FedScoop Interview with Hock Tan on Broadcom and Federal IT — SEC Filing
  13. Hock Tan: The Future of the Enterprise Is Private — VMware Explore Post
  14. VMware Cloud Foundation 9: Original Product Announcement
  15. Hock Tan: Broadcom — Providing Value to Customers
  16. Broadcom Q1 FY2024 Results: VMware and AI Growth Drivers
  17. Broadcom Q4 FY2019 Results: Semiconductor Cycle and Software Performance