Major architect of Intel's success, Andrew Grove dies at 79

Andrew S. Grove, former chief executive and chairman of Intel Corporation who contributed immensely to the semiconductor giant's success, passed away on Monday at the age of 79.

Both during his time at Intel and in retirement, Grove was one of the most influential figures in technology and business, writing best-selling books and widely cited articles, and speaking out on an array of prominent public issues.

His books High Output Management (1983) and Only the Paranoid Survive (1999) remain some of the most highly regarded management books.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of former Intel chairman and CEO Andy Grove," said Intel CEO Brian Krzanich in a statement.

"Andy made the impossible happen, time and again, and inspired generations of technologists, entrepreneurs, and business leaders," Krzanich noted.

Grove was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2000. However, the cause of his death has not yet been determined, a spokesman for the family was quoted as saying by the New York Times.

Present at Intel's 1968 founding with Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore, Grove became Intel's president in 1979 and CEO in 1987.

He served as chairman of the Board from 1997 to 2005.

Born Andras Grof in Budapest, Hungary, Grove immigrated to the US in 1956-57 having survived Nazi occupation.

He studied chemical engineering at the City College of New York, completing his Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley in 1963.

After graduation, he was hired by Gordon Moore at Fairchild Semiconductor as a researcher and rose to assistant head of R&D under Moore.

When Noyce and Moore left Fairchild to found Intel in 1968, Grove was their first hire, the statement added.

Grove played a critical role in the decision to move Intel's focus from memory chips to microprocessors and led the firm's transformation into a widely recognised consumer brand.

Under his leadership, Intel produced the chips, including the 386 and Pentium, that helped usher in the personal computer era.

Grove and his wife, Eva, were married for 58 years and had two daughters and eight grandchildren.