Geschke and Warnock Revolutionized Industry-Standard Printing and Imaging Technology
NEW YORK — (BUSINESS WIRE) — June 29, 2010 — The 2010 Marconi Society Prize will be awarded to Adobe Systems founders, John E. Warnock and Charles M. Geschke, visionary business leaders and technological innovators who together helped fundamentally transform the world of print communications from a manual, mechanical process to a digital work flow. The two were selected for their research on printing and imaging technology and their development of Adobe® PostScript®, a revolutionary software technology that is now the worldwide printing and imaging standard used by print service providers, publishers, corporations and government agencies worldwide.
The duo will be awarded the $100,000 Marconi Prize, considered the highest honor specifically devoted to information and communications science, on October 15th at the annual Marconi Awards Dinner at the Rosewood Hotel in Menlo Park, CA.
"The selection of Charles M. Geschke and John E. Warnock as co-recipients of the 2010 Marconi Prize signals the evolving nature of what we mean by communications technology," said Jim Massey, the 1999 Marconi Award winner and Fellow.
The Marconi Society, established in 1975, annually recognizes a living scientist whose work in the field of communications and information technology advances the social, economic and cultural improvement of all humanity.
Geschke and Warnock met in the late 70’s in Silicon Valley where Geschke was a researcher and group manager in the computer science lab at Xerox PARC and Warnock worked for Evans & Sutherland at Ames Research Laboratory. In 1978, Geschke interviewed and hired Warnock for a position at PARC. From the start, their similar backgrounds and philosophies forged a close bond between them.
In 1979, while at PARC, Warnock and a coworker created a device- independent system called JaM—a precursor to PostScript—that incorporated graphics. Convinced of its potential, Warnock and Geschke continued to work on its further development and eventually produced Interpress, a melding of JaM and Xerox’s existing printing language. It was a significant advance but Xerox Corporation decided against including it among the firm’s commercial products.
Undeterred, Warnock and Geschke sensed an opportunity. If Xerox was not going to seize this moment, they were prepared to do it themselves. In 1982 they formed a new company, Adobe Systems, named after the creek that ran behind Warnock’s Los Altos home.
A former teacher of Warnock’s suggested they meet with venture capitalist, Bill Hambrecht. Geschke and Warnock unveiled a complicated business plan to develop systems composed of high-powered workstations and printers for in-house use at large corporations. Leveraging PostScript’s device-independent design, the workstation would be connected to a laser printer for draft copies and to a typesetter for camera ready output. Six other companies were trying to do the same thing; Hambrecht found the proposal so appealing he wrote them a personal check for $50,000 for startup costs. They shook hands and later received $2.5 million dollars from Hambrecht and Quist.
It was the only venture capital Adobe ever needed. They moved the business out of their homes, and quickly built a small organization that produced PostScript. Then they made a critical and fortunate decision. They had always believed they would be manufacturing hardware but they came to a startling realization: by opting for a technology licensing business model, they were relieved of the burden of manufacturing yet could profit handsomely.
They soon were attracting the attention of Silicon Valley’s heavy hitters, including Steve Jobs, who offered them a considerable sum for their business. It only served to confirm the value of what they’d created. (When Jobs, realized they wouldn’t sell him the company, he instead invested $2.5 million in Adobe. Apple cashed out the stock six years later for $87 million.)
By the end of 1985, the market had embraced PostScript, which fundamentally improved the cost, productivity and efficiency of the graphic arts, printing and publishing businesses. Geschke and Warnock’s fledging company had taken communications to a new level and in little more than 10 years transformed the world of print communications from a manual, mechanical process to a digital work flow. Today all communications technologies are converting to digital and Adobe’s products continue to expand the technological frontiers of photography, video production, animation, digital communication and the World Wide Web. Its ubiquitous programs include, among others, Adobe Photoshop®, Illustrator®, Acrobat®, InDesign®, Adobe Premiere®, and Adobe Flash®.
Adobe’s success has grown over the decades. It acquired over 20 companies and invested in many more, always driven by the vision and collaboration between Warnock and Geschke.
Bill Hambrecht said it best, “The mutual trust and respect for each other’s ideas never wavered. I honestly have never seen a better partnership. They always stayed in sync with each other and were both visionaries in the business. From a two employee business in Los Altos, California to over 7,000 employees world-wide, the Adobe culture has always remained the same. Care and concern, taking responsibility, managing well and loving your job, are the cornerstones of the Adobe way of life. The skills for their craft, coupled with their ability to see beyond the curve of their profession have allowed them to transform step by step, an entire universe of work.”
Charles Geschke retired from active management as president of Adobe in 2000. John Warnock stepped aside as CEO in 2000 and retired in early 2001. Today Geschke and Warnock are co-chairmen of the board.
Warnock continues to be active in the software industry and is a frequent speaker on the impact of computing technologies on business and publishing. He is active on or a past member of several business and nonprofit boards in addition to Adobe, including the Sundance Institute, the American Film Institute, and the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. He is also on the board of ebrary, MongoNet, and the chairman of the board of the Salon Media Group.
Geschke and Warnock have both been honored countless times for their technical and managerial achievements. In 1999 both were inducted as Fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery. They received the AeA Annual Medal of Achievement Award from the American Electronics Association in 2006, and are the first software executives to receive this honor. Geschke and Warnock were among the 2008 winners of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, which is the USA's highest honor for technological and scientific achievement and both were honored for their pioneering contributions that spurred the desktop publishing revolution and for changing the way people create and engage with information and entertainment across multiple mediums including print, Web and video.
In addition, both have won awards from the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); the National Computer Graphics Association; and the Rochester Institute of Technology. They have also received the Entrepreneur of the Year award from Ernst & Young, Merrill Lynch and Inc. Magazine, and the ACM Systems Award. Warnock is the recipient of the Bodleian Medal; the Land Medal; and the Lovelace Medal and a member of the Philosophical Society. They are members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, founded by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, and the National Academy of Engineering.
Geschke is a recipient of the John W. Gardner Leadership Award. A board member for several educational, arts and non-profit organizations, he is a trustee emeritus of the University of San Francisco, currently holds the Rossi Chair in Entrepreneurship at the USF School of Business, and is a member of the computer science advisory board of Carnegie-Mellon University and Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. He is a board member of Tableau Software. He also serves on the boards of the San Francisco Symphony, the Commonwealth Club of California, the Egan Maritime Foundation, the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, and the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club.
"Geschke and Warnock's leadership of Adobe has been, and still is today, characterized by technical progress coupled with social responsibility,” noted Massey. “Adobe is always near the top in rankings of a 'good place to work' and 'environmental concern'. They emphasized service of Adobe to the community. In winning the Marconi Prize, their entrepreneurial leadership was as important as their extraordinary scientific achievements."
Adobe, Acrobat, Adobe Premiere, Flash, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and PostScript are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and other countries.
About the Marconi Society
The Marconi Society was established in 1974 through an endowment set up by Gioia Marconi Braga, daughter of Guglielmo Marconi. Through its annual prize, symposia, conferences, forums and publications, the Marconi Society promotes awareness of major innovations in communication theory, technology and applications with particular attention to understanding how they change and benefit society.
Contact:
The Marconi Society
Michelle Mosman, 650-722-0798