Ed Turney, a Chip Maker Founder, Is Dead at 79
Ed Turney, a Chip Maker Founder, Is Dead at 79
AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTOct. 19, 2008Ed Turney, a co-founder of the chip maker Advanced Micro Devices who built the company’s first sales team, died Wednesday in Cupertino, Calif. He was 79.The cause was brain cancer, Mr. Turney’s younger brother, George, said in a statement.Mr. Turney got his start in the chip industry in 1963 after he met Jerry Sanders, a salesman for Fairchild Semiconductor. In 1969, the two teamed up with six other executives to found A.M.D., based in Sunnyvale, Calif. Mr. Turney, who sold pretzels on the streets of Brooklyn as a child, also oversaw construction of A.M.D.’s first factory. He left the company in 1974, two years after its initial public offering of stock. Advanced Micro Devices is now the world’s second-largest maker of personal computer processors, behind Intel.Mr. Turney went on to work for smaller semiconductor manufacturing and distribution companies.Edwin James Turney was born March 26, 1929, to Edwin and Rose Turney. After high school, he joined the United States Navy, trained as an electronics technician and served in the Korean War.Mr. Turney is survived by his brother.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT