Ze'ev Drori
Encyclopedia
Ze'ev Drori is an Israel
i-born American
technology entrepreneur currently residing in California. Mr. Drori was the founder and Chief Executive of Monolithic Memories
, before the company merged with Advanced Micro Devices
(AMD). An avid car enthusiast, he is most well known recently for having helped engineer the turnaround of struggling electric carmaker Tesla Motors
as President and CEO from 2007 to 2008.
, where despite his young age Drori worked in the fields.
Drori enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces at 17, and moved through the ranks to become an officer in the Paratroopers Brigade. As an officer at the age of 20, he led his platoon during Israel’s many skirmishes with its neighbors.
At the completion of his military service, Drori passed his Bagrut
matriculation exams and went to the United States to study. Having gained admission to the Polytechnic University of New York, Drori supported himself by working a variety of jobs, including as a chimney-sweep, a dishwasher/busboy, in a slaughterhouse, in a cold-storage house in the meat-packing district of New York and on a lumberyard. Upon receiving his B.S, Drori accepted a position with IBM in Burlington, Vermont. He was soon promoted to head IBM’s semiconductor memory operation as the engineering manager. He left IBM after receiving a job offer from Fairchild Semiconductor
in Mountain View, one of the pioneering Silicon Valley electronics firms. He left Fairchild to start his own company in 1970.
, a semiconductor firm that pioneered advances in memory and logic technology. He served as President, CEO, Chairman of the Board and CTO of Monolithic through 1981 and as chairman of the board from 1981 to 1987. As CTO, he was responsible for the invention, development and manufacturing of the PAL (programmable array logic), the PROM (programmable read-only memory), ROM (read-only memory), and high performance signal processing chips. In 1980, Monolithic went public at $21 a share. In 1987, Monolithic merged with Advanced Micro Devices
(AMD) in a transaction valued at $
437 million.
in 1999.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
technology entrepreneur currently residing in California. Mr. Drori was the founder and Chief Executive of Monolithic Memories
Monolithic Memories
Monolithic Memories, Inc. produced bipolar PROMs, programmable logic devices, and logic circuits .A team of MMI engineers,under the direction of Ze'ev Drori and headed by John Birkner and H. T...
, before the company merged with Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
(AMD). An avid car enthusiast, he is most well known recently for having helped engineer the turnaround of struggling electric carmaker Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley-based company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components. It was the only automaker building and selling a zero-emission sports car, the Tesla Roadster, in serial production...
as President and CEO from 2007 to 2008.
Early life
Ze'ev Drori was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. His father worked for the Tel Aviv Municipality and his mother was a homemaker. Uninterested in school, he left home at 15 to move to Kibbutz HuldaHulda, Israel
Hulda is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah near the Hulda forest and the Burma Road, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 332...
, where despite his young age Drori worked in the fields.
Drori enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces at 17, and moved through the ranks to become an officer in the Paratroopers Brigade. As an officer at the age of 20, he led his platoon during Israel’s many skirmishes with its neighbors.
At the completion of his military service, Drori passed his Bagrut
Bagrut
Te'udat Bagrut is the official Israeli matriculation certificate. The bagrut is similar to the British A-levels, German Abitur, French Baccalauréat, and Austrian Matura...
matriculation exams and went to the United States to study. Having gained admission to the Polytechnic University of New York, Drori supported himself by working a variety of jobs, including as a chimney-sweep, a dishwasher/busboy, in a slaughterhouse, in a cold-storage house in the meat-packing district of New York and on a lumberyard. Upon receiving his B.S, Drori accepted a position with IBM in Burlington, Vermont. He was soon promoted to head IBM’s semiconductor memory operation as the engineering manager. He left IBM after receiving a job offer from Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. is an American semiconductor company based in San Jose, California. Founded in 1957, it was a pioneer in transistor and integrated circuit manufacturing...
in Mountain View, one of the pioneering Silicon Valley electronics firms. He left Fairchild to start his own company in 1970.
Monolithic Memories
In 1970, Drori founded Monolithic MemoriesMonolithic Memories
Monolithic Memories, Inc. produced bipolar PROMs, programmable logic devices, and logic circuits .A team of MMI engineers,under the direction of Ze'ev Drori and headed by John Birkner and H. T...
, a semiconductor firm that pioneered advances in memory and logic technology. He served as President, CEO, Chairman of the Board and CTO of Monolithic through 1981 and as chairman of the board from 1981 to 1987. As CTO, he was responsible for the invention, development and manufacturing of the PAL (programmable array logic), the PROM (programmable read-only memory), ROM (read-only memory), and high performance signal processing chips. In 1980, Monolithic went public at $21 a share. In 1987, Monolithic merged with Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. or AMD is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
(AMD) in a transaction valued at $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
437 million.
Clifford Electronics
During his tenure as Chairman of Monolithic Memories, Drori first invested in and subsequently acquired a fledging car alarm manufacturer - Clifford Electronics. In 1985, having given up day to day control over operations at Monolithic Memories, Drori became the full-time CEO and president. Drori brought cutting edge innovations to the auto security industry by incorporating the latest “Silicon Valley” technologies. Under his leadership the company established a strong IP position including the development of the remote control car alarms. Clifford was the OEM supplier to several foreign and domestic car makers. Clifford’s rapid growth was also fueled by a national and international network of after-market dealers. Drori grew Clifford Electronics into one of the world’s leading automobile security companies, before selling the company to Allstate InsuranceAllstate
The Allstate Corporation is the second-largest personal lines insurer in the United States and the largest that is publicly held. The company also has personal lines insurance operations in Canada. Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., and was spun off in 1993...
in 1999.