Security Staff Acquisition & Development

Tech Giants React to Andy Grove’s Death

From Bill Gates to Mark Zuckerberg, tributes to former Intel CEO Andy Grove, who died Monday, are pouring in. Here's a sampling of the statements.

Bill Gates and Andy Grove
Bill Gates and Andy Grove

"I’m sad to hear that Andy Grove has died. I loved working with him. He was one of the great business leaders of the 20th century." -- Bill Gates via Twitter

> Related: 10 Things Andy Grove Taught Us

“I first met Andy after a series of pretty hard times at Facebook when a lot of people in his position wouldn’t take the time to see me. He was always so generous." -- Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, via Bloomberg

“Mentoring with Andy Grove was like going to the dentist and not getting Novocain. If you went into a meeting, you’d better have your data; you’d better have your opinion; and if you can’t defend your opinion, you have no right to be there.” -- VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger, a former Intel executive, via Bloomberg

"Today the world has lost a great man in Andy Grove. A friend and mentor for many years. Forever thank you for all you have done for me." -- Gelsinger via Twitter

Marc Benioff

"Very sad to hear of the passing of the great Andy Grove, former CEO of . A tremendous positive force on our industry & community." -- Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff via Twitter

"Saddened by the passing of Andy Grove…a pioneer, a leader and a great teacher." -- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella via Twitter

"Andy Grove, RIP. Thank you for inspiring all of us who are immigrant founders. Your plain talk will be missed." -- Media entrepreneur and venture capitalist Om Malik via Twitter

"RIP Andy Grove. The best company builder Silicon Valley has ever seen, and likely will ever see." -- Netscape co-founder and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen

Michael DEll

"Remembering Andy Grove, one of the greatest ever. Teacher, Friend, Leader. Told it like it was and made it happen." -- Michael Dell

Perhaps the most fitting quote comes from Grove himself, who once said: “The single most important resource that we allocate from one day to the next is our own time.”

---

And a side note: I apologize for failing to quote a woman above. In some ways, it reflects the fact that Grove built Intel during an era when women rarely led technology companies. In other ways, it highlights my own failure to more closely track female executives. We'll redouble our efforts in that area.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.