Andrew Andy Grove, a man that is one of the most influential persons in IT industry, one of the first people at Intel and later President and CEO of the company, has died at the age of 79.

Andrew "Andy" Grove, born András István Gróf, immigrated to the US in 1957 from Hungary, was one of the key people at Intel, next to its founders, Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce. Andy Grove was actually one of the first guys that Moore and Noyce hired after they left Fairchild Semiconductor and founded Intel and although he was not one of the founders, he was considered one of the key people at Intel.

Grove was Intel President from 1979 to 1987 after which he succeeded Gordon Moore and became the company's CEO. During his 12 years of being CEO, Intel rose from US $4 billion to US $197 billion company. He stepped down from CEO position in 1998 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer and was struck by Parkinson's disease in 2000.

The news of his death echoed throughout the IT world as this was the man that left a big mark on the IT industry.

Intel's current CEO, Brian Krzanich said :"We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Intel Chairman and CEO Andy Grove,” “Andy made the impossible happen, time and again, and inspired generations of technologists, entrepreneurs, and business leaders.”



Source: Intel.com.