Bruce Chizen

Last updated
Bruce R. Chizen
Born1956 (age 67–68)
Alma mater Brooklyn College (part of the City University of New York)
Years active1980–present
Known forFormer CEO of Adobe Inc. (2000-2007)
Board member of Oracle Corporation

Synopsys
ChargePoint

Informatica

Bruce R. Chizen (born 1956) is an American technology executive. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Adobe Systems from 2000 to 2007.

Contents

Education

Chizen earned a B.S. from Brooklyn College (City University of New York) [1] in 1978.

Career

From 1980 to 1983, he worked in Mattel Electronics' merchandising group, helping it grow into a US$500 million business. In 1983, Chizen joined Microsoft as the company's eastern region sales director. [2]

In 1987, he joined Claris as a founding senior manager and later held positions as vice president of sales and of worldwide marketing before becoming vice president and general manager of Claris Clear Choice.

In 1994 Aldus Corporation hired Chizen to run its consumer division in San Diego (what was formerly Silicon Beach Software). Later that year, Aldus was acquired by Adobe Systems and Chizen became vice president and general manager of consumer products. [3] He was named CEO of Adobe in April 2000. His most notable action as CEO was the acquisition of Macromedia. [4] In an interview, Chizen stated that the primary reason for acquiring Macromedia was to get Flash. [5] During his 14 years at the company, Chizen engaged in transforming Adobe from a developer of graphics and publishing software into a leading diverse supplier of design, media, and business tools. [6] On November 12, 2007, Adobe announced that Chizen would step down as CEO effective December 1, to be replaced by Shantanu Narayen, president and chief operating officer. [7]

Chizen is a senior advisor for private-equity firm Permira, and has been a venture partner with Voyager Capital since 2009. [8] He also sits on the boards of Informatica, Oracle Corporation, [9] Synopsys, Elemental Technologies, NDS, and FullStory. [10] Chizen also sits on several nonprofit boards, including the Silicon Valley Education Foundation and 1st Act Silicon Valley.[ citation needed ]

Personal life

Chizen lived in Los Altos, in Santa Clara County, California with his wife and children.[ citation needed ]

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References

  1. ↑ "Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen to address 2004 graduates at UCSC's Baskin School of Engineering commencement; other UCSC celebrations begin on Thursday". ucsc.edu. June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  2. ↑ "Bruce Chizen, former CEO, Adobe and 2006 David Packard Award recipient". jointventure.org. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  3. ↑ "Voyager Capital Hires Former Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen, Strengthens Digital Media Expertise, by Gregory T. Huang". xconomy.com. 18 September 2009. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  4. ↑ "Adobe and Macromedia". adobe.com. Archived from the original on 2005-04-20. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  5. ↑ "After Acquiring Macromedia, What's Next for Adobe? Ask Bruce Chizen". upenn.edu. March 8, 2006. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  6. ↑ "Adobe CEO Chizen leaves in surprise move". Reuters. November 13, 2007. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  7. ↑ "Adobe's Chizen to Leave As CEO at Critical Time". WSJ. Nov 13, 2007. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  8. ↑ http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2009/09/18/voyager-capital-hires-former-adobe-ceo-bruce-chizen-strengthens-digital-media-expertise/
  9. ↑ "Bruce R. Chizen". oracle.com. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
  10. ↑ "FullStory raises $103M at a $1.8B valuation to combat rage clicks on websites and apps". techcrunch.com. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-03.


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