| Revision as of 01:58, 1 February 2012 editToddst1 (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, IP block exemptions, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers, Template editors137,724 edits →Personal life: rm WP:BLP issue← Previous edit | Revision as of 01:59, 1 February 2012 edit undoToddst1 (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, IP block exemptions, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers, Template editors137,724 edits →Early life: rm per WP:BLP / unsourcedNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{BLP sources|date=November 2009}} | {{BLP sources|date=November 2009}} | ||
| '''Michael Cowpland''' (born April 23, 1943) is a British-born entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder and one-time president, chairman and CEO of ], a Canadian software company. | '''Michael Cowpland''' (born April 23, 1943) is a British-born entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder and one-time president, chairman and CEO of ], a Canadian software company. | ||
| ==Early life== | |||
| Cowpland was born in ], ], ] and obtained a BSc. in engineering from ] before moving to Canada in 1964. He completed his masters (1968) and Ph.D. (1973) at ], ]. | |||
| ==Mitel== | ==Mitel== | ||
Revision as of 01:59, 1 February 2012
 | This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. Find sources: "Michael Cowpland" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Michael Cowpland (born April 23, 1943) is a British-born entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder and one-time president, chairman and CEO of Corel, a Canadian software company.
Mitel
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.
Corel
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 was investigated 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. This issue was settled in 2003 Subsequent to Cowpland's alleged insider sale at $8, Corel shares hit a peak of $60/share around November 1999, 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 to creating a critical mass for Linux, Cowpland left Corel in August 2000, and moved on to buy control of ZIM corporation, a database and mobile content company which is listed on the NASDAQ bulletin board (ZIMCF).
Personal life
In 1992, he married his second wife, Marlen Cowpland, best known for her diamond-pierced navel.
References
- Ross Laver (1998). Random Excess: The Wild Ride of Michael Cowpland and Corel. Viking Press. ISBN 067087972X. Retrieved November 19, 2009.