It's a small news item, as these things go. W.J. "Jerry" Sanders is resigning as chairman of the company he founded in 1969, Advanced Micro Devices. (The picture at right is from the AMD web site.)

Of course, AMD without Jerry is a lot like Playboy without Hefner, or News Corp. without Murdoch.

Jerry Sanders was, when all is said and done, one of the most seminal figures of the computer age. For starters, just look at the picture. Look at that suit, those twinkling eyes, that smile. The man made every rival CEO look like a candidate for BBC's "What Not To Wear."

This is quite amazing, given that AMD never did, from its founding until today, get out of the shadow of its larger chip rival, Intel. AMD is Gimbel's to Intel's Macy's, Pepsi to Intel's Coke, Avis to Intel's Hertz.

And the reason for that has much to do with how the two companies are run. Intel is run based on a strong corporate culture, one that rigorously rewards intelligence, and that tries hard to fight its own internal bureaucracies. AMD, on the other hand, is a truly entrepreneurial company, one molded in the image of one man, Jerry Sanders, and whatever his plans were at the moment.

The best historical comparison I can make is to the automotive business, and Walter Chrysler. (The picture of Chrysler at left is taken from the UAW's site for Daimler-Chrysler.) Chrysler called his own autobiography, "The Life of An American Workman," and in fact his early career was blue-collar. But he was, in the end, one of those mythical entrepreneurs who create their own myths.

And his company never did catch up to General Motors. This was partly because GM's founder, Will Durant, was (like Gordon Moore) perfectly happy to give up the reins for someone with more on the ball, in GM's case Alfred P. Sloan.

Sloan was, like Intel's legendary Andy Grove, perfect for his time, but in deference to Grove (one of the great men of our time) Sloan's were different times. Sloan built a set of product lines, he built a corporate culture that could outlast him, and he stuck his more entrepreneurial rivals, Ford and Chrysler, into second-and-third place for all time.

So it was with Jerry. AMD is not a bad little outfit. Its market capitalization is $5.44 billion. You can count on one hand the number of entrepreneurs who have come from nothing to a figure like that, and hung on to their offices that long.

Through it all Jerry was always Jerry. He was notable, quotable, never boring. He was AMD, and I suspect that he always will be.

So raise a glass this weekend to the great Jerry Sanders. The semiconductor industry will never see his like again.