Robert Maynard Jr.

Robert Maynard
Robert Maynard Jr.
Robert Maynard Jr.
Born	1962 (age 63–64) Phoenix, Arizona
Alma mater	Northern Arizona University (B.A.,1987)
Occupation	CEO
Known for	Co-Founder of LifeLock, Founder of Internet America & SurchX

Robert Maynard (born 1962) is an American businessman. He co-founded LifeLock, Internet America, Dotsafe, Kandoo, and SurchX. Internet America and LifeLock became public companies and SurchX was sold to the financial technology company Interpayments in 2020. ^[1]

Early life

Maynard was born in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1962. He first enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1981, where he served until 1985. He then took a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve and served as an officer in the Army's 12th Special Forces Group for nine years. ^[2]

From 1985 to 1987, he attended Northern Arizona University, where he graduated with honors; received the Wall Street Journal Award; and was named a Distinguished Military Scholar. He was also inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma and nominated for the Truman Scholarship for excellence in leadership and academics.^{[ citation needed ]}

Career

In the late 1990s, Maynard co-founded the internet service provider Internet America, which grew to over 145,000 subscribers within four years. ^[3] The company went public in 1998.

After departing from Internet America, Maynard founded Dotsafe, an internet filtering provider for educational sites. ^[4] In 2005, he co-founded LifeLock ^{[5] [6]} with Todd Davis, which provides identity theft protection software. He resigned in June 2007 following an article published in Phoenix New Times about his past involving bankruptcy, an FTC investigation, and identity theft. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Personal life

In the late 1990s, while he was the Chief Executive Officer of Dotsafe, Maynard began experiencing symptoms of an undiagnosed illness that affected various aspects of his life and work. After Dotsafe folded during the "dotcom bust" in 2001, he sought medical advice and was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. ^{[10] [11]} In an interview with Adam Mendler of Thrive Global , Maynard recalled his experience with depression and the electroshock therapy used to treat him, stating ^[12] "I was originally diagnosed with Major Depression, which is why I underwent ECT. It was the side effects of the electroshock treatment – mainly the mania – that led doctors to my bipolar diagnosis. I was 40 years old."

Maynard has spoken publicly and published writings about bipolar disorder. ^{[11] [13]}

See also

• FICO
• LifeLock
• Todd Davis

References

1. Maynard, Robert (Jan 23, 2024). "I get depressed over bad things". Quora. Retrieved Jan 23, 2024.
2. "Huffington, Arianna Stassinopoulos, (born 15 July 1950), Founder and Chief Executive, Thrive Global, since 2016", Who's Who, Oxford University Press, 2012-12-01, retrieved 2025-12-08
3. "5.1. Internet subscribers to fixed networks, 1999-2003". doi.org. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
4. Buyikian, Teresa (August 23, 1999). "Yet Another Dot Com Tempts Agency Contenders". Ad Week.
5. Debbie Carlson (31 January 2014). "Protect financial information from theft". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
6. Emily Jane Fox (19 December 2013). "4 things to do after your credit card has been hacked". CNN Money. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
7. Ray Stern (30 May 2007). "What Happened in Vegas". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on 2009-04-04. Retrieved 14 November 2021. In April 2005, local entrepreneur Robert J. Maynard Jr. was beyond broke.
8. Zetter, Kim (2007-06-11). "LifeLock Founder Resigns Amid Controversy". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
9. Casacchia, Chris (2007-06-12). "LifeLock founder resigns amid questions about his past". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
10. Stern, Ray (2020-03-09). "LifeLock Founder Robert Maynard Rises From the Ashes — to Crash and Burn Again". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
11. "Being Bipolar". RobertMaynardjr.com. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
12. Mendler, Adam (2024-10-27). "Do What You Should: Interview with Robert Maynard, Co-Founder of LifeLock". Adam Mendler. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
13. SurchX (2019-06-05). Robert Maynard Founder of SurchX Delivers Heartfelt Keynote at 2019 Phoenix Startup Week . Retrieved 2025-01-14– via YouTube.