13
December
2006
|
07:47 AM
America/Los_Angeles

Silicon Valley legend and hard-drive pioneer Al Shugart dies at 76

By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Al Shugart--the man who founded Seagate Technology, convinced his pet dog to run for public office, and favored Hawaiian shirts over business suits--has died at age 76.

The California native passed away at a hospital from heart failure Tuesday, a Seagate representative said.

Al Shugart

Al Shugart

Shugart played an integral role in the development of the hard-drive industry. He was part of the original team of engineers at IBM that developed the first hard-drive storage system, which came out 50 years ago this year.

He then held several different positions in the industry before founding Seagate in 1979. The company went on to become a dominant force in the hard-drive industry. It is, in fact, the largest hard-drive manufacturer, and it is consistently profitable. Shugart left the company in 1998.

Source: Al Shugart, hard-drive pioneer, dies at 76 | CNET News.com

I met with Al Shugart a few years back during a family vacation in Santa Cruz. I rarely do this, but I asked him to autograph his business (retirement) card.

Silicon Valley used to be full off hard drive makers spawned from the PC revolution. Over the years, some 90 plus hard drive makers have consolidated into just a handful. Seagate recently acquired Maxtor and is the largest following a reorganization engineered by Silver Lake Partners which led to its relocation in the Cayman Islands.

- - -

Seagate Technology
PO Box 309 GT Ugland House South
Church Street
George Town,  
Cayman Islands

 

Alan Shugart - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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