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Bruce R. Chizen (born September 5, 1955) is an American technology executive. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Adobe Systems from 2000 to 2007.

Education

Chizen earned a B.S. from Brooklyn College (City University of New York) 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.

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. He was named CEO of Adobe in April 2000. His most notable action as CEO was the acquisition of Macromedia. In an interview, Chizen stated that the primary reason for acquiring Macromedia was to get Flash. 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. 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.

Chizen is a senior advisor for private-equity firm Permira, and has been a venture partner with Voyager Capital since 2009. He also sits on the boards of Informatica, Oracle Corporation, Synopsys, Elemental Technologies, NDS, and FullStory. Chizen also sits on several nonprofit boards, including the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose and 1st Act Silicon Valley.

Personal life

Chizen lived in Los Altos, in Santa Clara County, California with his wife and two children—a son and a daughter.

References

1. ^ "Bruce Chizen". The Mercury News. December 2, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
2. "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.
3. "Bruce Chizen, former CEO, Adobe and 2006 David Packard Award recipient". jointventure.org. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
4. "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.
5. "Adobe and Macromedia". adobe.com. Archived from the original on 2005-04-20. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
6. "After Acquiring Macromedia, What's Next for Adobe? Ask Bruce Chizen". upenn.edu. March 8, 2006. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
7. "Adobe CEO Chizen leaves in surprise move". Reuters. November 13, 2007. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
8. "Adobe's Chizen to Leave As CEO at Critical Time". The Wall Street Journal. Nov 13, 2007. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
9. "Permira Hires 2 for Silicon Valley Office". The New York Times. 12 February 2009.
10. Whitney, Lance (18 September 2009). "Former Adobe CEO joins venture capital firm". CNET.
11. King, Rachel (12 January 2016). "Informatica staffs up C-suite with CEO, CMO, CFO and chairman". ZDNET.
12. "Bruce R. Chizen". oracle.com. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
13. ^ "Adobe Systems Inc./ On the Record: Bruce Chizen". SFGATE. 24 April 2005.
14. "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.
15. Bailey, Brandon (8 October 2008). "Chizen to be honored with SVLG Lifetime Achievement Award". The Mercury News.
16. "Adobe CEO Steps Down". Sydney Morning Herald. 13 November 2007.

External links

• Bruce Chizen's legacy
• PCMag Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen interview
• The alchemist of paper - The Economist article

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