It was exactly Sanders' fresh approach to things that makes him stick in Wilf Corrigan's mind.
The chairman and CEO of LSI Logic Corp. (a leading system on a chip supplier) and the former chairman of Fairchild, Corrigan entered the semiconductor industry in 1960.
He was a member of a group from Motorola called "Hogan's Heroes," whose Midwestern values were affronted by Sanders' salesmen, "the Suede Shoe Boys," who wore gold chains, open-necked shirts and Hollywood attitudes.
"At least that's what I thought until I saw how well they sold the product," Corrigan said. "He was flamboyant but at the same time the most effective salesman they had in the semiconductor industry. He is detailed, goal-oriented and meticulous."
After his dismissal, for the first time Sanders didn't see the next rung on his career ladder, and the situation flummoxed him.
"But when I was thrashing about, I realized I would only be happy running my own show," he said.
With "a big gaping hole in my financial knowledge, I used my wonderful public school education. I went out and bought books on management and accounting, and I was ready to go," Sanders said. "I was smart enough to get a venture capitalist on board."
He believes AMD made its mark by offering building blocks of ever-increasing complexity that helped larger manufacturers of electronic equipment. Within months of its launch, AMD had raised the money it needed to begin manufacturing products and moved into its first permanent home in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Sanders and AMD created "alternate-source devices," products obtained from other companies that AMD could redesign for greater speed and efficiency. And AMD managed to shorten its marketing time even as its products became increasingly complex.
"My vision was a place where people were treated fairly and allowed to explore ideas, a true meritocracy," Sanders said.
It was also a place where his flamboyancy flourished. From the beginning, Sanders has extended profit-sharing to all of his employees (half in shares, half in dollars). Prizes at the annual company party include items like Corvettes, houses and cash. When the company at first didn't have a lot of money, Sanders provided an imitator of rock star Rod Stewart at the company party; at the firm's 25th anniversary celebration, Stewart himself performed — with Sanders dancing along with him ("Everyone told me, 'Keep your day job,'" Sanders said).
But Sanders obviously works as well as plays. "It's been my honor to provide substantial competition in a highly competitive field," he said.
He's proud that under his leadership AMD has been in the Top 25 companies in number of U.S. patents — higher than Intel.
While AMD now holds about 20 percent of the processor market, Sanders predicts new chips used by gamers and special effects groups like Lucasfilm will eventually give the company a grander share.
In addition to his business acumen, Sanders has mined success in his private life. He has been married for 14 years to his second wife, Tawney, a former beauty queen. He calls his youngest daughter, Paris, "the light of my life."
"When I was young and brash, I thought that money was life's report card," Sanders said. "As I got older, I realized what really is your report card is your children." (Sanders has three grown children who are college graduates as well as 7-year-old Paris.)
Besides his principal residence in Bel Air, he also owns homes in Aspen, Malibu and San Francisco.
"Not bad for a punk kid from the South Side," Sanders said.
According to the San Jose Mercury-News, at the height of the tech bubble in 2000 Sanders was the sixth-highest paid chief executive officer in Silicon Valley with total compensation of $92.2 million, mainly from gains on stock options.
"Now I'm working for free," said Sanders, who left paychecks behind when he stepped down as AMD's CEO. "I'm the cheapest chairman in the industry."
