Over The Moon

Anthony Chan’s Passion for Electronics Was Triggered by a Walk on the Moon. Today, the President of Tti Asia Travels the World Sharing His Fascination.

- Wendy Kay

It was July 1969 and, along with the rest of the world, Anthony Chan was glued to the television witnessing history in the making. While the young boy appreciated the grainy black and white images showing Neil Armstrong’s giant leap for mankind, he was captivated more by the technology humming behind the scenes to make it happen. He was intrigued and wanted to learn more.

The President of TTI Asia counts that moment in his childhood as the defining moment when a serious passion was ignited. He knew that whichever path his future took him, electronics would have to be involved en route. “I remember it so clearly,” he says. “It was at home after school and while I found it amazing to see Neil Armstrong step onto the moon, all I could think about was the electronics and communications.”

Just a few years later, after that momentous space expedition, TTI was launched in Texas.

Today, TTI is one of the world’s most prevalent distributors of electronic components, with its supply chain providing solutions for industrial, transportation, military and aerospace sectors as well as consumer electronic manufacturers.

Around the world, TTI boasts more than 850,000 component part numbers, as well as 5,600 staff employed in more than 100 sales locations and 13 distribution centres throughout North America, Europe and Asia. The company entered the European market in 1992 by opening its first office in Munich and, since then, its reach across the continent has spread to more than 40 countries.

Meanwhile, Anthony, who grew up in Hong Kong, started his career as a field application engineer for Siliconix (now called Vishay), an American manufacturer of components with a global footprint. “They are very well known as a manufacturer for passive and discrete semiconductor components,” Anthony explains.