Edwin James Turney (March 26, 1929,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York - October 15, 2008
) is best known as one of the founders of
Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufact ...
serving as the Vice President of Sales and Administration from 1969 to 1974.
Early life
Ed Turney was born in Brooklyn, New York. His early years were spent in Ridgewood and later in Huntington, Long Island. At the age of 18, he enlisted in the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
where he received his first training in electronics. Turney graduated 3rd in his class from the U.S. Naval School, Electronics Technicians at the U.S. Naval Training Center in
Great Lakes, Illinois
Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center ...
.
Career
After leaving the Navy, Turney worked for a brief time back on his native Long Island for the Long Island Lighting Company. His next stop was at
Philco
Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics industry, electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchased ...
as a TechRep Field Engineer.
Turney's career took off when, in 1969, he joined
Fairchild Semiconductor as Sales Engineer. Within two years, he was promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing, Computer Market based in corporate headquarters, Silicon Valley, California.
In 1969 Fairchild Semiconductor was taken over by
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...
management. This was the impetus for the founding of
Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufact ...
(AMD).
AMD was founded by
Jerry Sanders, John Carey, Sven Simonsen, Ed Turney, Jack Gifford and three members of Gifford's team, Frank Botte, Jim Giles and Larry Stenger.
As Vice President, Sales and Administration, Turney was responsible for worldwide sales, purchasing, material, customer service, plus numerous diversified administrative and contractual functions. Under Turney's reign, sales grew incrementally at 20% per quarter to approximately $65,000,000 from first production in April 1970 through December 1974.
Ed Turney's next position was as Vice President, Worldwide Marketing and Sales at Electronic Arrays. In Turney's two-year stint from 1974 to 1976 he increased sales from $6M to $22M propelling the company into becoming the world's largest
Read-Only Memory
Read-only memory (ROM) is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be electronically modified after the manufacture of the memory device. Read-only memory is useful for storing sof ...
manufacturer at the time. The company was subsequently acquired by
NEC
is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...
of Japan.
In December, 1976, Ed joined
Intersil
Intersil is an American semiconductor company headquartered in Milpitas, California. As of February 24, 2017, Intersil is a subsidiary of Renesas. The previous Intersil was formed in August 1999 through the acquisition of the semiconductor busin ...
as Vice President, Worldwide Marketing and Sales. He had been solicited by the Board Chairmen of both companies at the time of acquisition of Intersil by
Advanced Memory Systems to integrate sales and marketing for the combined companies and to formulate and execute consolidated business plans. Turney developed and implemented a multi-year, award-winning advertising campaign to create a new image for the company. He received the
EFFIE
Effie is a feminine given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Euphemia (Greek: Εὐφημία). Notable people with the name include:
Women
* Effie Bancroft (1840–1921), English actress and theatre manager
* Effie Boggess (1927-20 ...
Award, given for the most effective advertising commercials. At that time, Intersil was the only semiconductor company in the nation to have received the award.
Death
Turney died on October 15, 2008, of brain cancer at age 79. He was buried on October 18 at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 22555 Cristo Rey Drive, Los Altos. He is buried in St. Theresa’s Court next to his mother, Rose.
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References
Further reading
*''The Spirit of AMD'' by Jeffrey L. Rodengen
*''Inside Intel: Andy Grove and the Rise of the World's Most Powerful Chip Company'' by Tim Jackson
*''The Making of Silicon Valley: A One Hundred Year Renaissance'' by Ward Winslow and John McLaughlin
*''History of Semiconductor Engineering'' by Bo Lojek
External links
Intel Vs. AMD
Jerry Sanders Oral History
Fairchild Oral History Panel: North American Sales and Marketing
Genesis: A Silicon Valley Tale
Fairchild Semiconductor National Sales Conference '65 San Juan, Puerto Rico
Integrated Circuits outside Fairchild Semiconductor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turney, Edwin
1929 births
2008 deaths
AMD people
American salespeople
Deaths from brain tumor