ALAN F.
SHUGART
PRESIDENT, CHAIRMAN AND CEO
Al
Shugart has more than 50 years of experience in the technology industry and
continues to play a key role in determining the future of information
technology. Nicknamed Maverick, Spin Doctor, Computer Pioneer,
and the Disk Drive King by industry journalists, Shugart is renowned for
his unconventional thinking and straightforward
manner.
Shugart
founded Seagate Technology, Inc. in 1979, building the company into the world’s
largest independent manufacturer of disk drives and related components, as well
as a leading developer of software tools and applications in the area of data
management, including information management, network and systems management
and storage management. In 1998, he left Seagate to establish Al Shugart
International, a resource center focused on helping entrepreneurs transform
great ideas into great companies with lasting value. While at Seagate, Shugart
joined the Board of Directors of SanDisk Corporation and Valence Technology,
both listed NASDAQ stocks. Since leaving Seagate, he has joined the Board of
Directors of five additional companies: Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE), and
privately held Fidelica Microsystems, n&k
Technology, Inc., Blackball, Inc., and Blue Sky Research. Shugart holds a
Chairman position at Blue Sky Research.
From 1975 to 1979, Shugart worked as a private consultant to the
technology industry. In 1973, he co-founded Shugart Associates, leaving at the
end of 1974. He held the position of vice president of Product Development at
Memorex from 1969 to 1973. Before joining Memorex, he worked for IBM
Corporation for 18 years, starting as a field engineer in 1951, the day after
he finished college. He worked as a manager of a variety of programs including
IBM’s 2321 data cell drive, and was instrumental in the development of the
world’s first slider bearing head disk drive, the Advanced Disk File, which
became the IBM 1301. Shugart was promoted to manager of all random access
memory products, and then to director of Engineering for the Systems
Development Division, before resigning in 1969.
Shugart remains actively involved in politics. In 1997, he formed
Friends of Ernest (FOE), an accredited nonprofit and nonpartisan citizen’s
watchdog organization dedicated to promoting public interest in the American
political process. A recognized personality and significant presence in the
community, Shugart continues to support organizations that contribute to the
betterment of society, like the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
Shugart is the author of three books ¾ Ernest
Goes To Washington (Well, Not Exactly), the true story of Ernest’s run for
Congress, Fandango, The Story of Two Guys Who Wanted to Own a Restaurant,
a firsthand account of Shugart’s life in the
restaurant business and Al: The Wit & Wisdom of Al Shugart, which covers
subjects ranging from the joys of curiosity to the tyranny of high-technology
Born and raised in