Name: From Ranch Life to Tech Legend: Longest-Serving CEO in Silicon Valley Tells His Story
Uploaded: 2026-04-07T04:21:23.000Z
Description: At 80 years old, Zinn continues writing books on leadership. His latest, “The Essential Leader,” distills decades of wisdom into practical guidance for anyone leading a team, company, or family.

Steve is an investigative reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Steve Ispas

NTD Plus

Shows

“Bay Area Innovators” tackles the compelling, life-changing, fearless, and compassionate stories from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, providing a platform for discussion and discovery. We bring to our program the legends, the innovators, and the hardworking people who are shaping the future of the Bay Area in a positive way by finding solutions and improving people’s lives.

Steve Ispas is an investigative journalist with The Epoch Times and the host of Epoch TV’s “Bay Area Innovators” program. Steve grew up in Eastern Europe, and lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 35 years. He worked in the tech industry for 15 years at LSI Logic and Rambus, and has been with The Epoch Times in various positions since 2003. His recent coverage includes an in-depth exclusive investigation of the secret Chinese biolab discovered in Reedley, Calif., in 2022.

Bay Area Innovators

The FIFA World Cup Effect on Private Aviation and the Entrepreneur Who Built America’s Fastest Growing Carrier

From the Founders’ Genius to Today’s Debates: How the Constitution Was Built to Last

He Left a Fortune 500 CFO Job to Buy a Struggling Crab Company, and Then Took It Global

Why Americans Pay So Much for Drugs: A Pharma CEO Exposes the System

Shot at a Church Event, Lost Her Surgical Career—Dr. Tiffanie Tate’s Story of Resilience

How a 14-Year-Old Turned Heartbreak Into a $650,000 Nonprofit

The Secret War on the US Dollar—BRICS, Iran, and the China Strategy

Ex-NYPD Detective Breaks Down Security Failures at the White House Correspondents Dinner Shooting

The Story of the Modoc Nation: History, Identity, and Survival

What It’s Really Like to Work Undercover in San Francisco

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

News

World News

Americas

Helicopter With Singer Oliver Tree on Passenger List Collides With Another in Brazil, Killing 6

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

Iran's Football Team Leaves Note of Friendship

Melanie is a reporter and editor covering world news. She has a background in environmental research.

Melanie Sun

US News

State News

California

California Governor, LA Mayor Declare Emergency Over Warehouse Fire

News with integrity, from the United States and around the world. Focused reports and analyses that shed light on major issues the world deserves to know. NTD Evening News airs daily at 6 p.m. ET.

NTD Evening News

Up to 900 Planes Grounded Worldwide Amid Engine Shortage, United CEO Says

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

Andrew Thomas is a reporter for NTD News primarily covering business, the economy, and technology. 

Andrew Thomas

Science &amp; Tech

NASA Reverses Evacuation Alert Order for Astronauts Aboard Space Station

Rudy Blalock is a Southern California-based daily news reporter for NTD. Originally from Michigan, he moved to California in 2017 and the sunshine and ocean have kept him here since. In his free time, he may be found underwater scuba diving, on top of a mountain hiking or snowboarding, or at home meditating—which helps fuel his active lifestyle.

Rudy Blalock

8 Dead After B-52 Bomber Crashes at Edwards Air Force Base in California

Ohio

At Least 12 People Shot at Ohio Festival, Search for Suspects Ongoing: Police

Mary Man is a writer for NTD. She has traveled around the world covering China, international news, and arts and culture.

Mary Man

Daniel Monaghan is a reporter for NTD News covering culture, social issues, and education. He holds a BA in Political Science and Government.

Daniel Monaghan

China News

Epoch Times Obtains Over 2,000 Unseen Tiananmen Square Photos on 37th Anniversary of the June 4th Massacre

US Embassy in Israel Issues Travel Alert for Much of Middle East

Los Angeles Warehouse Fire Prompts Shelter-in-Place Orders

In today’s episode, Ray Zinn joins us to share his extraordinary journey from ranch cowboy to becoming the longest-serving CEO in Silicon Valley history. For 37 years, Zinn led Micrel—a company he bootstrapped with very limited venture capital—and remained profitable every single year except one.

After becoming legally blind, Zinn continued leading Micrel for another 20 years, proving that physical limitations don’t define leadership capability. He shares how losing his vision actually made him a better, more empathetic CEO, and how his company culture was so strong that employees going through divorce found their marriages saved after joining the team.

“You can only give as much love as you’re willing to receive,” Zinn says about the leadership lesson that came from accepting help after losing his sight.

Zinn’s philosophy is simple but powerful: do the tough things first, focus on making people better rather than making them wealthy, and never let excuses become acceptable. His company had half the turnover of the industry average, and so many employees returned after leaving that they called it the “boomerang philosophy.”

At 80 years old, Zinn continues writing books on leadership. His latest, “The Essential Leader,” distills decades of wisdom into practical guidance for anyone leading a team, company, or family.

Watch the full interview for an inspiring story of persistence, integrity, and what it really takes to lead for nearly four decades.

<em>Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of  NTD.</em>

Latest

Conversations on current and trending topics.

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.