Al Shugart, co-founder of the hard disk maker Seagate, has died at the age of 76.

His health deteriorated following open-heart surgery six weeks ago, according to reports.

Shugart co-founded Seagate with Finis Conner in 1979. He jumped ship in 1998 to set up his own VC incubator, Al Shugart International. He also sat on the boards of many companies, including SanDisk and Cypress.

A larger than life character who wore larger than life shirts, Shugart ran his Bernese Mountain dog, Ernest, for Congress in 1996, purportedly to increase voter awareness and registration. ®