If ever there were a manufacturing biography just begging to be turned into a movie script, it's the Jerry Sanders story.
Sanders, the retired CEO of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) (IW 500/157), helped launch the company in 1969 and built it into one of the largest microprocessor manufacturers in the world. He is considered one of the founding fathers of Silicon Valley, and has a reputation for flamboyance and being fond of the finer things in life -- such as his Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Benton and Aston Martin.
But Sanders' journey to the top was a bit of a rollercoaster. He was raised by his paternal grandparents on the south side of Chicago. When Sanders was 18, he was beaten within inches of his life -- and given last rites at Little Company of Mary Hospital -- after standing up for a friend who was being pummeled by a group of thugs. (The friend took off.)
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| W.J. "Jerry" Sanders III, principal founder and retired CEO of Advanced Micro Devices |
When Sanders went to work at Fairchild Semiconductor as a sales engineer, he thought he was on a track to become CEO. Instead, he was fired because of his brash, outspoken style.
Then, when Sanders helped launch AMD in 1969, Innovation Magazine dubbed it "the least likely to succeed of the technology startups of the 68-69 timeframe," he remembers.
Sanders, a 2010 IndustryWeek Manufacturing Hall of Fame inductee, reflected on his life and career during a recent interview with IndustryWeek.
