Rob Burgess
Rob Burgess | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957 Toronto, Canada |
| Occupation | Technology executive |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Known for | CEO of Macromedia (1996–2005), CEO of Alias Research (1991–1995) |
Rob Burgess (born 1957) is a Canadian executive specializing in technology, recognized for his role as CEO of Macromedia Inc. from 1996 until 2005 and as chairman from 1997 through 2005. Prior to that, he served as CEO of Alias Research between 1991 and 1995.
Career
Between 1984 and 1991, Burgess occupied significant leadership positions at Silicon Graphics (SGI), a company at the forefront of 3D computer graphics innovation. He initially worked as a sales engineer, established Silicon Graphics Canada Inc., and managed the division until 1990 before advancing to vice president of applications in Silicon Valley. In 1991, he returned to Toronto to take on the CEO role at Alias Research, a publicly traded 3D software firm. His tenure saw Alias recover financially and become a dominant force in high-end 3D software, notably creating Maya, which set the standard for computer animation in the industry. Maya earned an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 2003.
In 1995, Silicon Graphics purchased Alias for $460 million and Wavefront Technologies for $180 million. Burgess merged these entities into Alias/Wavefront and assumed the presidency.
In 1996, Burgess was appointed CEO of Macromedia and became chairman a year later, maintaining these roles until Adobe Systems acquired Macromedia in December 2005 for $4 billion—a transaction ranking as the fifth largest software acquisition at that time. Following the acquisition, he joined Adobe’s board of directors and remained until 2019.
Throughout his leadership, Burgess guided Macromedia's evolution from a CD-ROM multimedia company into the dominant player in internet-based multimedia authoring and computer animation. Under his direction, Macromedia Flash emerged as the worldwide standard for multimedia content creation and playback, installed on approximately 98% of internet browsers globally.
Current status
Since 2011, Rob Burgess has been a member of the board of directors at NVIDIA (NVDA).
Early life and education
Raised in Toronto, Burgess earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University in 1979. He was honored with the Wayne Fox distinguished alumni award by McMaster's DeGroote School of Business in 2001 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2017.