One of the famous events of early chip industry history was the reaction of Sherman Fairchild, backer of Fairchild Semiconductor, to the resignations of Bob Noyce, Gordon Moore and Andy Grove when they went to found Intel. His reaction was to hire the top management of Motorola Semiconductor. Pasquale Pistorio remembers how he was sorely tempted.
In 1968, Pistorio had just been promoted to be the regional director for Motorola in Italy. "In August 1968, I was in Phoenix (HQ of Motorola's semiconductor division) to get acquainted with my new job as regional director", recalls Pistorio, "one Friday, there was a panic in Motorola. 'Hogan is leaving. Everybody is leaving'. "
"I was offered the job of general manager for Fairchild in Europe. There was a feeling that everyone who didn't leave Motorola would die. I was offered double the salary plus stock options - I didn't understand what they were - I hadn't heard of them before."
"Dedy (Dedy Saban, Pistorio's immediate boss) said: 'I'm leaving Motorola. Follow me'. I had one night awake in Phoenix. Should I accept - which was tempting - or should I stay? I had just been promoted. My duty was to hold the ground rather than abandoning it for extra money. It felt like abandoning a ship that was in trouble. It didn't seem correct. I decided to stay. I think at the time, my boss appreciated that I decided to stay."
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