Jack Gifford, Maxim founder, AMD co-founder, dies

By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- 1/13/2009

The semiconductor industry this week is mourning the passing of Jack Gifford, founder of Maxim Integrated Products and co-founder of AMD, who suffered an apparent heart attack and passed away Sunday evening.

Gifford, who has been described by former managers as "very street-smart and competitive," claimed numerous accomplishments in his near 45-year semiconductor industry career and, as such, was named Electronic Business' CEO of the Year in 2001.

After attending UCLA on a baseball scholarship and graduating with a BSEE degree in 1963, Gifford worked at Fairchild, initially in sales in Los Angeles. In 1966 at age 24, he was promoted to product manager of Fairchild's new analog chip division, the industry's first dedicated analog business.

Gifford left the company in 1969, teaming with his former Fairchild colleague Jerry Sanders to co-found AMD, where he acted as CFO. From there he joined Intersil in 1971, working part time for several years while attending to a small tomato farm near Sacramento.

He rose to become president of Intersil. After General Electric Co bought Intersil for $240 million in 1980, a confrontation with GE CEO Jack Welch eventually forced Gifford to move on.

Weeks after his exit from Intersil in early 1983, Gifford founded Maxim, tapping several of his ex-employees and serving as the company's CEO until his retirement in 2007. Gifford elected to retire for medical reasons, but remained with the company on a part-time basis as a strategic advisor focused on product planning and business direction.

"Jack founded Maxim with the firm belief that analog integrated circuits would prove to be a great growth market," said Tunc Doluca, who took over for Gifford as Maxim's CEO, in a statement. "He led our company with steadfast determination for 24 years, grew it from the ground up to over $2 billion in sales. He was a strong leader with seemingly limitless energy and enthusiasm. Jack's drive for continuous innovation still lives on at Maxim and is the foundation of our success."

Also see: Podcast: Fairchild at 50: Address by Jack Gifford CEO of the year: Maxim's Jack Gifford

Kip Hagopian, Maxim's Chairman, commented, "Jack Gifford was a legend in Silicon Valley and an exceptional CEO who built one of America's great companies. He was also a wonderful husband and father and a deeply loyal friend to virtually every Maxim employee, past and present. We will all miss him enormously. On behalf of the Maxim board, I want to send our heartfelt condolences to Jack's wife Rhodine and to the rest of the Gifford family in this time of great sorrow."

Gifford was 68 at his passing.

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