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| Subsequently by November 1999 Corel shares hit a peak of $60/share during the height of the Linux boom when Corel's version of Desktop Linux was seen to be a potential rival to Microsoft Windows. After an unsuccessful attempt to buy Borland with a view of creating a critical mass for Linux, Cowpland left Corel in August 2000, and moved on to buy contol of ZIM corporation a database and mobile content company which is public on the NASDAQ bulletin board (ZIMCF) | Subsequently by November 1999 Corel shares hit a peak of $60/share during the height of the Linux boom when Corel's version of Desktop Linux was seen to be a potential rival to Microsoft Windows. After an unsuccessful attempt to buy Borland with a view of creating a critical mass for Linux, Cowpland left Corel in August 2000, and moved on to buy contol of ZIM corporation a database and mobile content company which is public on the NASDAQ bulletin board (ZIMCF) | ||
| In ] he married his second wife, ] who later had a hit TV series "Celebrity Pets |
In ] he married his second wife, ] who later had a hit TV series "Celebrity Pets" for 2 years on CTV featuring interviews with 52 international celebrities and their pets. They live in a 20,000 ft² house in ], Ottawa. | ||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowpland, Michael}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowpland, Michael}} | ||
Revision as of 05:13, 21 November 2007
Michael Cowpland (born April 23, 1943) is a Canadian entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder and one-time president, chairman and CEO of Corel, a Canadian software company.
Cowpland was born in Bexhill, Sussex, England and obtained a BSc. in engineering from Imperial College London before moving to Canada in 1964. He completed his masters (1968) and Ph.D. (1973) at Carleton University, Ottawa.
He worked for Bell Northern Research (later part of Nortel Networks) and then MicroSystems International. In 1973, Cowpland and Terry Matthews founded Mitel Networks, a company that developed and sold electronic PBX systems. Initial success made both founders millionaires. Sales peaked at $250 million but over-expansion and development problems saw the company bought by British Telecom. Both Cowpland and Matthews left the company in 1984 amid disagreements with the owners.
Matthews went on to found Newbridge Networks while Cowpland launched Cowpland Research Laboratory (soon Corel) in Ottawa in 1985. At first the company sold DTP workstations, but success did not arrive until the launch of the graphics software CorelDRAW in 1989. In 1996 he offered a challenge to Microsoft with a move into productivity software, acquiring WordPerfect from Novell for $158 million. The company also made unsuccessful forays into CAD, videoconferencing, Java, Linux and other developments. He temporarily survived an investigation by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in 1999-2000 into allegations that he had used insider information to sell $20 million in Corel shares at $8/share shortly before the company posted disappointing results, although his holding company, M.C.J.C. Holdings Inc., plead guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice to insider trading and was fined $1 million. Further, the OSC panel refused to approve the settlement due to insufficient facts, which led to a 2003 decision that fined Cowpland and his holding company $575,000, reprimanded him and his holding company and barred Cowpland from becoming or acting as a director of a reporting issuer for two years.
Subsequently by November 1999 Corel shares hit a peak of $60/share during the height of the Linux boom when Corel's version of Desktop Linux was seen to be a potential rival to Microsoft Windows. After an unsuccessful attempt to buy Borland with a view of creating a critical mass for Linux, Cowpland left Corel in August 2000, and moved on to buy contol of ZIM corporation a database and mobile content company which is public on the NASDAQ bulletin board (ZIMCF)
In 1992 he married his second wife, Marlen Cowpland who later had a hit TV series "Celebrity Pets" for 2 years on CTV featuring interviews with 52 international celebrities and their pets. They live in a 20,000 ft² house in Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa.
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