Wendell Brown
Brown delivering the keynote address at MITA Tech Talks, 2013
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCornell University
Occupation(s)Inventor
Entrepreneur
Computer Scientist
Known forTeleo
LiveOps
eVoice
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1995)​

Wendell Brown is an American computer scientist, entrepreneur and inventor best known for his innovations in telecommunications and Internet technology, cybersecurity, and smartphone app development. Brown has founded multiple notable technology companies including Teleo, LiveOps and eVoice.

Early life and education

Brown was born in the Appalachia region of the United States, and grew up in the northernmost Appalachian town of Oneonta where he was first introduced to computers by his father, who worked as a professor at SUNY Oneonta. Brown attended Oneonta High School, where he began computer programming, selling personal computer systems, and published his first computer article in Byte (magazine).[1][2][3]

Brown's mother and father were both native West Virginians. His father, Foster Brown, was a statistics and psychology professor from Wheeling, West Virginia. His mother, Barbara, was an elementary school teacher from Tunnelton, West Virginia. Brown has stated of his upbringing in the Appalachian region, "I'm proud of my West Virginia heritage, where my family tree has deep roots dating back to the founding of our nation, and I treasure many memories from times spent in the lush countryside of my parents' hometowns."[4][2]

Brown graduated from Cornell University in 1983, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.[5][6] While at Cornell, Brown became the youngest recipient to be awarded the Hughes Aircraft Bachelor of Science Undergraduate Fellowship.[7][8]

Software development

Steve Jobs with Brown at the launch of Brown's Hippo-C software for Macintosh, January 1984

While studying at Cornell University, Brown was hired by video game publisher Imagic, where he created several bestselling titles[9] including a port of the 1983 arcade game Star Wars for ColecoVision,[10] as well as Beauty & the Beast,[11][12] Nova Blast,[11] and an unreleased port of Moonsweeper[13][14] for Mattel's Intellivision.

Upon graduating from university, Brown left Imagic and his career as an independent computer scientist began with his founding of Hippopotamus Software, one of earliest software developers for the Macintosh. Brown's Hippo-C development environment was the first C compiler for the Mac and Atari ST computer systems.[15]

After the success of Hippo-C, in 1986, Brown and Rick Oliver founded Nilford Labs in Sunnyvale, California, which developed the ADAP SoundRack system, a pioneering direct-to-hard-disk audio recording system that replaced the traditional method of tape-splice sound editing.[16][17] ADAP was used to create and edit soundtracks of Hollywood movies and TV shows, including Born on the Fourth of July, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Die Hard, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. [18]

ADAP was also used by recording artists Peter Gabriel, Fleetwood Mac, The Pointer Sisters, Mötley Crüe, David Bowie, and Nirvana among others for sound effects and digital music editing. The Walt Disney Company and Toshiba used ADAP to create sound effects for rides and live action productions at Disney amusement parks in the US and Japan.[19] MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) company Hybrid Arts acquired Nilford Labs in 1988.[20]

From 1988 through the mid-1990s, Brown worked with National Semiconductor as a telecommunications cryptography expert where he built hardware implementations of DS3 algorithms.[21]

After leaving National Semiconductor, Brown reunited with one of his Imagic colleagues, Stanford University computer scientist Mark Klein, to co-found computer software company WalkSoftly in 1995, based in Palo Alto, California.[22] In 1996, they developed the first mass market software cybersecurity program for PCs, including a bestselling Internet security program, Guard Dog. Their innovation was awarded the Software Publishers' Association Top 4 most innovative security products of the 1990s and named by PC Data as one of the Top 10 bestselling retail security software products of all time. WalkSoftly was acquired by CyberMedia (a division of McAfee/Intel) in 1997. [23]

Internet technology

Brown is regarded as a pioneer of Internet messaging, VoIP technologies, as well as Internet-based gig work and remote work.[24][25][26][27]

As co-founder and Chief Ideas Officer of eVoice, Brown created the eVoice voicemail platform in 1998, the world's first large-scale, Internet-enabled voicemail system.[28][29][30] eVoice developed techniques such as voicemail-to-email, visual voicemail, and enhanced caller ID,[31] innovations that are considered some of the earliest "apps," and which were later deployed by Google Voice and Apple. By 2000, the company had 1.5 million paid subscribers and also supplied white label voicemail solutions to AT&T, MCI, AOL, and regional phone companies.[32] AOL Time-Warner acquired eVoice in 2001 where it became part of the AOL Time-Warner voice services group.[33]

After the acquisition of eVoice, Brown left AOL Time-Warner in 2001 to co-found CallCast, a Palo Alto-based virtual call center company that merged with LiveOps in 2002.[34] He served as LiveOps chairman and chief technology officer. The same year, Brown was recognized as one of the Top 100 leading computer industry executives in America by technology magazine MicroTimes.[35] As of 2023, LiveOps continues to provide call center solutions and social media management for companies such as Coca-Cola, Pizza Hut, and eBay.[36]

Brown went on to co-found another communications company, Teleo, in 2005,[37] an early competitor of Skype, where he created VoIP applications enabling users to send and receive phone calls over the Internet.[38] Teleo was acquired by Microsoft and became part of Microsoft's MSN group in 2006. [39]

In 2015, Brown started the San Francisco and New York City-based cybersecurity company Averon, which develops frictionless identity solutions based on mobile technologies.[40] Averon presented a verified location concept on the main stage of the global TED Conference in 2016, and introduced its Direct Autonomous Authentication (DAA) mobile security technology in 2018.[41][42] Multinational telecommunications provider Telefónica is a technology partner of Averon.[43]

As a Silicon Valley angel investor, Brown has also been involved in funding notable startup companies including Appeo, ADISN,[44] MOEO,[45] and IronPort,[46] which was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2007 for US$830 million.[47]

Inventor

In January 2012, the World Economic Forum in Davos honored Brown's energy efficiency inventions as a Technology Pioneer Award Nominee.[48] His high-efficiency LED lighting technology, called Nularis, is used by global franchises including Hyatt Hotels, Four Seasons Hotels and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Brown has created dozens of U.S. and internationally patented inventions in the fields of cybersecurity, telecommunications, virtual workforce, electric vehicles, LED lighting, 3D cameras, renewable fuels, online music distribution, and mobile phone apps including WebDiet, a method of using mobile phones to count food consumption to improve health. The WebDiet app was recognized as the first app to count calories and automate meal coaching.[49][50]

Philanthropy

Brown's philanthropic involvements include the endowment of a named scholarship at Soka University of America (Aliso Viejo, California), support for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's Aviation Safety Lab & Library, and private sponsorship of underprivileged students in South America.

He is a longtime contributing member of the Human Rights Campaign for the advancement of LGBT civil rights, and of global Jewish service organizations.[2]

Private life

Brown speaking at TIME in New York City, 2012

In 2013, Brown was honored by his hometown with a permanent plaque on Oneonta High School's Wall of Distinction for his accomplishments in business and technology.[3]

Brown participates as a speaker, technology judge and advisor in communities including the Israel Conference,[51] the World Economic Forum,[52] TED (conference),[53] Google and MIT Hackathons,[54] Digital Life Design Munich and DLD Tel Aviv Conferences,[55] the Web Summit Dublin,[56] TechCrunch, CTIA - The Wireless Association,[57] AlwaysOn ("Networking the Global Silicon Valley"),[58] El Financiero (Bloomberg),[59] and the Mita Institute Tech Talks.[60]

Brown is an advisory committee member of the Progressive X Prize for automobile innovation including new fuel technologies and electric car development,[61] an advisor to the MITA Institute Venture Fund,[62] as well as an advisor to Gener8, a stereoscopic 3D movie company with film credits including The Amazing Spider-Man and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.[35]

Brown is a licensed private pilot and is active in the development of new airplane, rocket, and electric vehicle designs. He is married to American author Taro Gold.[63]

References

  1. ↑ "From Appalachian Hills to Silicon Valley". Computerworld. Computerworld Magazine. October 1996. p. 43.
  2. 1 2 3 "Oneonta's Own Wendell Brown". The Oneonta Star. March 2001. p. 8.
  3. 1 2 "Oneonta High School Alumni Association | Oneonta, NY". Oneontahighalumni.org. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "Foster L. Brown". Theintelligencer.net. The Intelligencer of Wheeling, West Virginia. December 10, 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "Cornell Club Steaks and Startups". Cornell Club of Los Angeles. September 22, 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "Oneonta's Own Wendell Brown". The Oneonta Star. March 2001. p. 7.
  7. ↑ "Exploring an Innovative Solution to Reduce Gun Violence". University of Southern California. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  8. ↑ "Oneonta's Own Wendell Brown". The Oneonta Star. March 2001. p. 8.
  9. ↑ Loguidice, Bill (2014). Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time. London: Routledge. p. 74. ISBN 978-0415856003.
  10. ↑ "Colecovision Game Index - Star Wars". Colecovision.dk. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  11. 1 2 "Intellivision Classic Video Game System / Imagic for Intellivision". Archived from the original on 2006-12-08. Retrieved 2013-11-07.
  12. ↑ "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers". Dad Gum / James Hague. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  13. ↑ "ColecoVision.dk presents: Moonsweeper © 1983 by: Imagic Interactive Entertainment". Colecovision.dk. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Intellivision World :: Official Intellivision FAQ 7.0". Intellivisionworld.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  15. ↑ Ward, Terry (1985). Programming C on the Macintosh. Boston: Addison-Wesley. p. 252. ISBN 0673182746.
  16. ↑ Pierson-Perry, Jim (1986). "A Sound Editing Revolution". Electronic Musician. San Bruno: Polyphony Publishing Co. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  17. ↑ Davies, Rick. "Hyrbrid Arts ADAP". Music Technology Magazine. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  18. ↑ Perry, Michael R. "What Does Hollywood Know About Atari?". Start Magazine. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  19. ↑ "Hippo-C creator Wendell Brown's new ADAP SoundRack". Macworld. Mac Publishing. August 1988. p. 17.
  20. ↑ "What is ADAP?". Chuck Peplinski. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  21. ↑ "Hippo-C creator Wendell Brown's new ADAP SoundRack". Macworld. Mac Publishing. August 1988. p. 18.
  22. ↑ "From Appalachian Hills to Silicon Valley". Computerworld. Computerworld Magazine. October 1996. p. 43.
  23. ↑ "Cybermedia, Inc". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2023-11-03.
  24. ↑ Rosencrance, Linda. "Startup Gets Backing of Email Pioneers". Computerworld Magazine. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  25. ↑ "3 Reasons Why We're Challenging the FCC". TechFreedom.com. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  26. ↑ Scheiber, Noam (11 November 2017). "Plugging Into the Gig Economy". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017.
  27. ↑ "Learn About the History of LiveOps". Liveops.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2008.
  28. ↑ "Net2Phone President Departs To Run Closely Held eVoice". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. August 25, 2000. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  29. ↑ "Start-up Aims to Speed Internet Messaging". Internetnews.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  30. ↑ "Software Services Applications Internet Social/6062033-1.html". Allbusiness.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  31. ↑ "Voice messaging system". Google.com. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  32. ↑ "Fresh Face at eVoice". Forbes.com. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  33. ↑ "Evoice". Virtualpbxcompare.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-03.
  34. ↑ "Our History". Liveops.com. 11 November 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-11-01.
  35. 1 2 "Wendell Brown: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2013.
  36. ↑ "Customers". Liveops.com. 2023-11-05.
  37. ↑ "The meaning of free speech". The Economist. Vol. 377. Economist Newspaper Limited. October 2005. p. 38.
  38. ↑ "IT news, careers, business technology, reviews". Computerworld.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  39. ↑ "Microsoft Acquires Teleo, Innovative VoIP Technology Company". Microsoft.com. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  40. ↑ Brooks, Steve (2018-04-20). "Business Leader interview with Wendell Brown – CEO at Averon -". Enterprise Times. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  41. ↑ Ha, Thu-Huong; May, Kate Torgovnick; McClure, Laura (17 March 2015). "Machines that learn: A recap of Session 3". Ted Blog. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015.
  42. ↑ Alspach, Kyle (2018-01-11). "10 Coolest Products at CES 2018". CRN. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
  43. ↑ Lomas, Natasha (16 April 2014). "Wayra U.K. Adds Six More Startups To Its Mentoring Program". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014.
  44. ↑ "iPhone app gleans healthy grub nearby". Archived from the original on 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
  45. ↑ "MOEO - Vator Profile". Vator.tv. Archived from the original on 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2013-01-27.
  46. ↑ "Cisco to Acquire IronPort". Epoch News. PESource. January 4, 2007. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  47. ↑ Regan, Keith (January 4, 2007). "Cisco buys IronPort for $830 Million". E-Commerce Times. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  48. ↑ World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Programme. Geneva: World Economic Forum & World Bank. 2012. p. 133.
  49. ↑ "DEMOfall 08: WebDiet uses cell phones to help count calories". Venturebeat.com. 8 September 2008.
  50. ↑ "Wendell Brown - Google Patent Search". Google.com. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  51. ↑ "Daren Riley and Wendell Brown of APPEO". Flickr.com. 30 May 2013.
  52. ↑ "The World Economic Forum". Weforum.org. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  53. ↑ "TED: Keys to the Future". Ted.com. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  54. ↑ "Hacking Generation Y Official". Hackgeny.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  55. ↑ "DLD Conference: Digital-Life-Design". Sld-conference.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  56. ↑ "Attendees 2014". Archived from the original on 2014-08-02. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  57. ↑ "CTIA - Home". Ctia.org. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  58. ↑ "About AO". Always On. Archived from the original on April 25, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  59. ↑ "TV vía web, mejor inversión que cadena: Wendell Brown". Archived from the original on 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  60. ↑ "Wendell Brown/". Mitainstitute.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  61. ↑ "Advisors". Progressiveautoxprize.org. Archived from the original on 2011-01-14. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  62. ↑ "Mita Ventures Investment Advisors". Mita Ventures. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  63. ↑ Turner, Tina (December 1, 2020). Happiness Becomes You. Atria Books. p. 196. ISBN 978-1-9821-5215-4.
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