American-born businessman, and Executive Chairman of the Board at Seagate Technology, Stephen Luczo will today (Friday 15 December) receive an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University Belfast.

Leading data storage company, Seagate Technology has over 40,000 employees worldwide and a revenue of $10.8 billion. The company has a manufacturing plant based in Northern Ireland and is one of the North West’s biggest employers.

Stephen served as CEO of Seagate from 1998-2004 and from 2009-2017 and led the management buyout in 2000, which was the largest technology buyout at the time.

Speaking ahead of receiving his honorary degree DSc (Econ) for services to business and commerce, Stephen said: “I’m delighted to be receiving this honorary degree from Queen’s University. Queen’s contributes significantly to the global technology industry and the economy in terms of producing skilled, work-ready graduates. I look forward to continuing our association with this incredible establishment in the future.”

Seagate has invested over £10m in Queen’s, establishing the ANSIN advanced materials hub within the School of Mathematics and Physics, and the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Photonic Integration and Advanced Data Storage. Stephen is a strong advocate for technology growth in Northern Ireland and the productive and collaborative partnership between Seagate and Queen’s.

Stephen is considered one of the technology industry’s most influential and visionary leaders and was ranked No.1 Technology Leader in Bloomberg's top 20 list in 2013 and recognised as one of the top 100 performing CEO’s in the world by Harvard Business Review, CNN Money, Business Insider, Fortune Magazine and Institutional Investor.