Pasquale Pistorio, a visionary Sicilian engineer who created 'Etna Valley' and took Italian micro-electronics to the world, died Friday aged 89, Italian news agency Ansa reported.

Pistorio transformed SGS-Thompson into STMicroelectronics, making it one of the world's leading microelectronics companies.

Pistorio, originally from Agira (Enna), graduated in 1963 in Electrical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin and began his professional career as a Motorola transistor salesman in Piedmont.

In 1967, he was hired by Motorola and rose rapidly to become general manager in 1978.

In 1980, he became CEO of the SGS group, achieving his greatest success.