American-born businessman, and Executive Chairman of the Board at Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX), Stephen Luczo, will today receive an honorary doctorate in Economics from Queen’s University Belfast.

Leading data storage company, Seagate Technology has over 40,000 employees worldwide and has a revenue of $10.8 billion. Mr. Luczo 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. Under Mr. Luczo’s leadership as CEO from January 2009 through the end of Seagate’s fiscal 2017, Seagate’s overall Total Shareholder Return (TSR) was in the top 15 companies in the S&P 500 Index. He was appointed Executive Chairman of Seagate in 2017 and serves as Chairman of the Board. Seagate has a manufacturing plant based in Northern Ireland and is one of the North West’s biggest employers.

Speaking ahead of receiving his Honorary Degree for his services to business and commerce, Mr. Luczo said: “I’m delighted to be receiving this Honorary PhD in Economics from Queen’s University. Queen’s significantly contributes 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. Mr. Luczo is a strong advocate for technology growth in Northern Ireland and the productive and collaborative partnership between Seagate and Queen’s.

Mr. Luczo 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.