A Grove
Andrew Grove
Source: Computer Reseller News
Computer Reseller News via Individual Inc. : More than most top executives
during the past year, Andrew Grove grappled with the relentless forces of
change-both personal and professional.
During the past 12 months, Intel Corp.'s chief executive spearheaded the
launch of yet another microprocessor generation, this time the Pentium Pro.
He also directed a major expansion of the Santa Clara, Calif., vendor's
channel activities based on the continued momentum displayed by
build-your-own resellers. Under Grove, Intel released new boxed chips and
motherboards and committed to ship new products quickly through
distributors, VARs and systems integrators.
Grove also wrestled with the implications of the Internet, searching for ways in
which Intel may profit from what many consider to be the biggest industry shift
since the introduction of the original PC.
Perhaps most challenging of all, Grove, now 60, waged a personal battle with
prostate cancer. Last spring, he publicly disclosed his condition, now in
remission, which forced him at times to sneak from meetings to nap in hotel
rooms.
Grove draws little distinction in how he deals with change in his personal life
or in business. He says when change happens, it is best to ask what can be
done to turn an experience to an advantage, rather than playing victim by
asking, "Why me?"
And at Intel, Grove embraces change. "I see the Internet as either an
opportunity that we take modest advantage of, or an opportunity that we take
chief advantage of in a huge way," he says. "I am obviously hoping that we will
marshal in enough resources to adapt the platform so that it will be exquisitely
well-tuned to different applications people can use the Internet for."
Read in his words:paranoia as motivator, a famous Grove axiom.
Perhaps paranoia was the reason Grove recently reversed his attitude on
Internet appliances, or network computers. While he once described the
concept of a low-cost Internet access device as "ridiculous," Grove has now
assigned development groups to explore the technology's viability, as rivals
like Sun Microsystems Inc. turn up the heat with product announcements.
Grove always has had an ability to change with the times, according to those
around him. "[He] is on the move, and he doesn't stay in one place too long,"
says Carl Everett, an Intel senior vice president and general manager. "He's
willing to adjust, and he makes the right adjustments."
Grove's ability to keep Intel atop the evolutionary heap in the computer
industry spurred Time magazine to name him one of the nation's 10 most
powerful people.
Last year, the chip maker's income rose 54 percent. This year, the company
continues to rack up profits, while its stock has risen steadily. For the first nine
months of the year, Intel posted a 24 percent increase in revenue to $14.4
billion, and a 20 percent boost in net income to $2.7 billion.
For that kind of performance, Grove received a bonus of $2.36 million last
year, which was 37 percent higher than the $1.72 million bonus he received
the previous year. His salary rose 5 percent to $400,000, making his total
compensation $2.76 million, up from $2.1 million.
Grove also was awarded 96,000 options to buy Intel stock for $45.66 a
share, exercisable in the year 2000. Assuming annual price appreciation of
5 percent to 10 percent, those options will be worth $2.76 million to $6.98
million in 10 years, according to Intel.
"I think it's been a pretty decent 12 months, so I don't have a whole lot of
regrets associated with it," Grove says. "Probably the most significant event of
the last 12 months was the Pentium Pro. . . . We've managed, for once, to
intercept quite correctly, quite accurately, the software development growth
and rise in popularity of [Windows] NT."
The ability to offer quick, piercing analysis is one of Grove's greatest
strengths, according to his business associates. Even while juggling his duties
at Intel, during the past year Grove found time to write a book, published this
fall, titled "Only The Paranoid Survive:How To Exploit The Crisis Points That
Challenge Every Company And Career." In his book, Grove reveals keys to
his business strategy and thinking.
"When you're presenting to him, you want to make sure you've thought
through what you're doing," says Dennis Carter, Intel's vice president of
corporate marketing.
Grove apparently spots weakness in any argument quickly.
"He's a perfectionist and demanding of intellectual rigor," Carter continues,
"and that makes us all perfectionists."
Grove, the manager, is driven as much by personal ethics as he is by business
acumen, according to some industry executives who have followed his career.
"He has a relentless belief to be better," observes Wei Yen, chief executive of
Navio Communications Inc., a Mountain View, Calif.-based spin-off of
Netscape Communications Corp. "He does it himself, and he works
diligently."
Grove derives much of his intellectual strength from the practice of studying
every decision thoroughly, says Robert Burgelman, professor at Stanford
University's School of Business, where Grove teaches part-time.
Burgelman says, "He's very incisive and thorough. He sees strategic
implications sharply and quickly in which the connections are not immediately
obvious."
Those qualities proved invaluable during Grove's battle with cancer. In the fall
of 1994, Grove discovered he had an elevated "PSA" rating, a measure
commonly used to detect prostate cancer. A biopsy confirmed the presence
of a sugar-cube-size tumor.
Grove started his own research after receiving conflicting medical advice. He
spent nights perusing original medical papers that influenced his doctors'
opinions about surgery vs. radiation treatment. He concluded that no one was
unbiased. Consequently, he made his own decision to pursue a new approach
to radiation treatment.
"There is one person and only one person for whom this is the most important,
and that's you," Grove recounted on the Charlie Rose interview show on
public television last September. "Something needs to get done, so you put a
good number of hours into it, you study, you take graph paper and plot the
data and compare them, and you come to conclusions. Rely on yourself.
That's what I learned out of it."
Grove first publicly disclosed his medical treatment in a story he wrote for
Fortune last May. Told in scientific fashion with glimmers of dry wit, Grove
recalled how he analyzed his condition methodically through interviews with
doctors, research on the Internet and access to online support groups.
Grove's initial phase of radiation therapy was completed in 48 hours.
Afterward, he continued receiving radiation treatments, stopping at a hospital
on his way to work at 7:30 each morning.
The treatments began to take their toll. In the afternoons, overcome with
fatigue, Grove ended his workday early, typically around 4 p.m. After an hour
nap, he would boot up a home computer and work a few more hours.
After a month, his radiation treatments ended. Three weeks later, he was in
Geneva, Switzerland, giving a keynote speech at Telecom 95. Aside from the
signs of fatigue, the ordeal apparently had little effect on Grove.
"Did I mellow or something like that? No, I don't think I did. . . . I think I have
probably been driven by the desire to build businesses and make a difference,
and I continue to be driven exactly the same way. I don't think I have changed
as a result of this."
Intel Vice President Carter says Grove has not changed over the past year in
temperament or work habits. "He continues to have incredible stamina,"
Carter says.
Grove, who has said his job consumes seven days a week, 24 hours a day,
has sent Carter E-mails at all hours of the day and has even called him at
home late on Saturday night. "He expects a response," Carter says.
Jay Amato, president and chief operating officer of Vanstar Corp., makes a
different observation. "[Grove] has really reflected his enthusiasm for both the
technology and the future of the business for all of us," Amato says. "I think
that this year, his bout with cancer has seemingly 'personalized' him further, as
it would for any of us."
Grove has been coping with the unexpected since his early years. His
dairyman father was forced into labor on the Russian front during World War
II. In Budapest, the young Grove fancied opera singing and once aspired to
become a journalist.
After the 1956 Soviet invasion, Grove, with $20 in his pocket, traveled from
Hungary to New York. He eventually enrolled in City College of New York,
graduating first in his class in 1960. Three years later, he earned a doctorate
degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Gordon Moore, the
legendary founder of Intel, interviewed Grove, promptly hiring him for his
young company. That was 28 years ago. And the rest, as the saying goes, is
history.
Today, despite frenetic change being driven relentlessly by the Internet, Intel's
outlook is upbeat. The company has a load of cash in the bank, huge
investments in plant capacity and control of the market for microprocessors.
What's a blessing also is a curse, however. Intel relies on the continued
growth of the PC market. While industry analysts predict double-digit market
expansion, any downturn could prove disastrous.
"I think the biggest challenge for us is to help maintain the growth of the PC
industry and be a big player in the PC industry," Grove says. "We have a
responsibility to do a lot of technical marketing work. . . . That's why I
consider the Internet so important, because the Internet is an infusion of a lot
of energy, a lot of creativity, a lot of new thinking, a lot of new applications."
By anyone's measure, Grove could retire now with a great sense of
accomplishment. That day, however, is not likely to be anytime soon.
"I enjoy what I do," he says. "I get up every morning and come to work with a
measure of enthusiasm for what I do, and it's pretty good. Incidentally, the
Internet made it that much better. It's technically and conceptually, from a
business strategy standpoint, a very challenging situation. It has given me
wings in a way. I find this fascinating. So long as I am in nobody's way
particularly, and I am energetic, I will continue."
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Title president and chief executive, intel corp.
Location santa clara, california
1995 Salary and Bonus $2,760,000
Years With Company 28
Education b.s., chemical engineering, city college of new york; ph.d.,
university of california, berkeley
Favorite Musician/Composer wolfgang amadeus mozart
Last Concert Attended opera, earlier this fall
Favorite Way To Relax skiing
Senior Prom Date no high-school prom
Favorite Consumer Magazine computer reseller news
Favorite Dessert fruit |
