Eckart Wintzen

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Eckart Wintzen
Sebastiaan ter Burg en Eckart Wintzen - Picnic 2007.jpg
Eckart Wintzen (right) in 2007
BornApril 19, 1939 [1]
DiedMarch 21, 2008(2008-03-21) (aged 68)
France
Citizenship Netherlands
Alma mater Leiden University
Occupations
  • Entrepreneur
  • venture capitalist
Known forBSO/Origin, Ex'tent, Ex'pression College
Website "Ex'tent". Archived from the original on 13 September 2017.

Eckart Wintzen was a Dutch entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and environmentalist. He was known for founding software company BSO/Origin, [2] co-founding Ex'pression College, [3] and contributing to the success of Ben & Jerry's Benelux, [4] [5] Wired, [5] and Greenwheels. [5]

Contents

In his own words, he wanted to "put technology at the service of inter-human warmth." [4]

He died of heart failure in 2008, [5] while on vacation in France. [6]

Early life and education

Wintzen was born in a fishing village in Holland, and later studied math and physics at Leiden University. [4]

In the early 1960s, he served a mandatory stint in the Dutch army, where he first developed an interest in computers. [2]

Business career

BSO/Origin

In 1976, Wintzen founded the software company BSO, which was later renamed Origin. [6] In 1995, the privately held company had 6,500 employees and 100 offices in 24 countries, with global revenues above $500 million. The firm's clients included Volvo, Texaco, Eastman Kodak, Procter & Gamble, and Motorola. [2] In 1996, the company merged with Philips Communications and Processing Services, and ready to move on to other ventures, Wintzen chose not to stay onboard after the merger. [2]

Ex'tent

After retiring from Origin in 1996, Wintzen decided to put the profits to good use. He founded green venture capital firm Ex'tent, [7] which offered management and financial support to small companies with philanthropic missions. [2] [5]

Ex'pression College

In 1999, Wintzen co-founded Ex'pression College, a private for-profit college for digital arts, in Emeryville, California. Initially, the school was funded exclusively by Wintzen, who invested roughly $20 million into the project. [8] Wintzen said his support of the school was part of a plan to participate in the "immaterial economy." [3] Along with the management team, Wintzen actively participated in the development of the long-term vision and goals for the school. [6]

Advising

Eckart advised many entrepreneurs, and served on the boards of commercial and non-profit organizations including the Dianne Fossey Gorilla Fund and the Carbon Disclosure Project. [9]

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References

  1. ↑ "Register of Condolence". extent.nl. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Van Bakel, Rogier (1 November 1996). "Origin's Original". Wired . Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 Levy, Dan (2 June 2002). "Dutch entrepreneur tunes into the futurGenius for self-expression / A Dutchman wrote the check, and he gets to pontificate at a hatchery for new-media arts in Emeryville". SFGATE . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "McLuhan Program: Eckart Wintzen". University of Toronto . Archived from the original on 24 October 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Dylan, Tweney (28 March 2008). "Maverick IT Entrepreneur Eckart Wintzen Dies". Wired . Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "Ex'pression College Mourns Passing of Founder Eckart Wintzen". Mix . 27 March 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "This is Ex'tent". extent.nl. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  8. ↑ Tanaka, Wendy (4 January 1999). "Ex'pression Center for New Media, A new school in Emeryville, wants to create career-ready professionals with a fast-paced program". SFGATE . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  9. ↑ "Eckart Wintzen (1939 - 2008)". extent.nl. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
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