John Criswick

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John Criswick (born December 1, 1963) is a Canadian entrepreneur.

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Career

After receiving his electrical engineering degree from the University of British Columbia in 1986, Criswick worked as a software engineer for Canadian Astronautics (purchased by EMS Technologies). In the early 1990s, Criswick studied space physics at York University and while obtaining his Master's degree, he worked at an observatory in Utah. In 1991, he attended International Space University in Toulouse, France, immersed in a multidisciplinary program of study centered on space technology.


In 1997, Criswick was contracted by Nortel Networks to source an Internet browser that was agile enough to work on a mobile device. When he discovered there was nothing compatible on the market, he and colleague Bob Tennant began to build a browser from scratch. Nortel agreed to fund the project, and by the end of 1997, Criswick and Tennant had decided to form their own company, Beduin Communications. [1] Nortel became Beduin's first customer, paying $120,000 for a license to use the technology. In 1998, Beduin Communications' personal Java browser technology was purchased by Sun Microsystems for $20 million U.S. in stock (which subsequently more than tripled in value). In 2001, he co-founded Rove Mobile (previously known as Idokorro Mobile and Planetfred), a company that specialized in network administration and remote access solutions for handheld devices.


Throughout his career, Criswick leveraged his serial entrepreneurship to bring nearly $250 million to Eastern Ontario’s economy. John Criswick’s primary objectives have shifted from consumer tech to consumer goods. During his career, Criswick became an investor and has been involved in starting and operating over 45 companies, many of which are based in or near Ottawa. Below are just a few of them:


John Criswick participated in the sale of multiple companies with which he was involved, including:


Below are more companies John Criswick owns or has been involved with:

Philanthropy

Criswick's primary charity motivation is astronomy and space research as a means to spark interest in young minds' pursuit of higher education. His main interest is the University of Victoria's Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Additional Facts

The main-belt asteroid named 29348 Criswick, discovered in 1995 by David D. Balam, is named after him.

Criswick was among the first to sign up for one of Virgin Galactic's trips to space, which brought him coverage in The Globe and Mail and on CTV's Canada AM show.

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References

  1. Hum, Peter (2018-11-16). "Star-gazer, trailblazer: Meet Ottawa's serial entrepreneur John Criswick". Ottawa Citizen . Retrieved 2018-11-16.