Bert Amato
Encyclopedia
Bert Amato is an investor and consultant in the high-technology industry. He currently sits as an advisory board member of several firms, including XDL Intervest Management, Farelogix and Infotriever.
Born in Zimbabwe
, he emigrated to Canada where he received a degree in Industrial Engineering
from the University of Toronto
. He helped co-found Delrina
in 1988 along with South Africa
n expatriates Mark Skapinker
and Dennis Bennie
. The previous year, he and Skapinker came up with the idea of creating electronic business form software. They met with Bennie, who was then the Chief Executive Officer
of Carolian Systems International, a firm that made business software for Hewlett-Packard
. He arranged for an initial seed investment of $1.5 million CAD
to create a new start-up company to develop this idea, which was called "Delrina".
From 1988-1995 he was Executive Vice President & Chief Technical Officer
of Delrina, where he was responsible for product research. He helped to orchestrate the sale of the firm to Symantec
in November 1995, and for one year served as a Vice President on that firm's board.
Born in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, he emigrated to Canada where he received a degree in Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. He helped co-found Delrina
Delrina
Delrina was a Canadian software company founded by four individuals, Dennis Bennie as CEO and chairman, Mark Skapinker as president, Bert Amato as executive vice president and chief technical officer and Lou Ryan as executive vice president of world wide sales...
in 1988 along with South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n expatriates Mark Skapinker
Mark Skapinker
Mark Skapinker is a Managing Partner at Brightspark, a software venture capital firm based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Born in South Africa, he immigrated to Canada where, along with Bert Amato, he co-founded Delrina, where they devised its first product, the electronic form software PerForm. He...
and Dennis Bennie
Dennis Bennie
Dennis Bennie is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of XDL Capital Corporation, a venture capital firm focusing on Internet software.In the late 1980s, Bennie was the CEO at Carolian Systems International, which was a firm that made business software for Hewlett-Packard...
. The previous year, he and Skapinker came up with the idea of creating electronic business form software. They met with Bennie, who was then the Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Carolian Systems International, a firm that made business software for Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
. He arranged for an initial seed investment of $1.5 million CAD
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
to create a new start-up company to develop this idea, which was called "Delrina".
From 1988-1995 he was Executive Vice President & Chief Technical Officer
Chief technical officer
A chief technology officer is an executive-level position in a company or other entity whose occupant is focused on scientific and technological issues within an organization....
of Delrina, where he was responsible for product research. He helped to orchestrate the sale of the firm to Symantec
Symantec
Symantec Corporation is the largest maker of security software for computers. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and is a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500 stock market index.-History:...
in November 1995, and for one year served as a Vice President on that firm's board.