Andy Grove, Intel executive and computer pioneer, dies at 79

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 22 (UPI) -- Andrew S. Grove, whose leadership of Intel Corp. made him a legendary and influential part of the personal computer boom, has died at 79.

Though he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and cancer, no cause was given for Grove's death Monday.

A part of Intel's management since its 1968 founding, he led the company during its shift from memory hardware to processor chips, making the company's 386 and Pentium chips and the slogan "Intel Inside" important elements in the growth of personal computers. Under his direction as board chairman, CEO and president, Intel sales grew from $2 billion to $26 billion in 13 years.

Grove's bestselling books, High Output Management in 1983 and Only the Paranoid Survive in 1999, remain respected books on management, Intel said in a statement announcing his death.

Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1996, an experimental treatment put the disease into remission.

Born Andras Grof in Budapest, Hungary, Grove survived Nazi occupation and Soviet control before immigrating to the United States in 1956. After completing a Ph.D. in 1963 he was hired by Fairchild Semiconductors, until he became Intel's first employee.

"Andy approached corporate strategy and leadership in ways that continue to influence prominent thinkers and companies around the world," said Intel Chairman Andy Bryant in a statement. "He combined the analytic approach of a scientist with an ability to engage others in honest and deep conversation, which sustained Intel's success over a period that saw the rise of the personal computer, the Internet and Silicon Valley."