Ed Esber
Encyclopedia
Edward M. Esber, Jr. is the former CEO of Ashton-Tate
and initiated its subsequent sale to Borland
. Esber joined VisiCorp
(the publisher of VisiCalc
--the first spreadsheet)--as Exec VP of Sales and Marketing. He is credited with the successful marketing of the first productivity software for personal computing, making the way for the widespread acceptance of personal computers in business. Esber presently works as an angel investor in Silicon Valley, mentoring and financing the current generation of entrepreneurs and through his time and philanthropy his educational Alma maters.
in 1976, He then went on to earn a Masters of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School
, in 1978.
, the oldest of eight children and attended Normandy High School, a public school in Parma, Ohio
. During his undergraduate education, he was one of the primary authors and programmers of a Management Simulation Game used to teach marketing at colleges called IMPS (Industrial Marketing Plan Simulation).
. He was later tasked with creating and teaching a course to prepare IBM
engineers to design with microprocessors. This seminal work led to IBM
announcing and shipping the IBM Personal Computer based on an Intel microprocessor in the early 80s. During his career at IBM
, he earned his M.S. Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University
in 1976. In 1976 he left for Harvard Business School
and was tasked with preparing an exploratory report for IBM
on the efficacy of controlling energy costs in the home with a personal computer.
In 1978, Esber went to work for Texas Instruments
in their Consumer Products Division in Lubbock, Texas
working in product marketing on Personal Computers.
). Esber became the ninth employee and third shareholder. Esber launched VisiCalc
as the first personal computer application software that made buying a personal computer for business viable. He pioneered the distribution and marketing of personal computer software as he and VisiCorp
launched the first product line of productivity software (VisiCalc
, VisiWord, VisiFile, VisiPlot, VisiTrend and VisiDex), the first suite of office software (VisiPak) and the first WinTel
graphical user interface for IBM compatible PCs (VisiON).
and MicroSoft
). He turned dBase
into one of the longest running standards in the personal computer software industry and jointly introduced SQL Server
with MicroSoft
. During Esber’s term as CEO, sales grew from about $40M to $311M.
During this time, Ashton-Tate acquired several companies, including Decision Resources and MultiMate. Both companies were past their prime and Esber resorted to channel-stuffing in order to mask poor sales. At one point, distributors had more than 2 years of MultiMate and Decision Resources software in their warehouses.
Esber sparked outrage among dBase developers and users by theatening to sue anyone publishing dBase-based products. At one point, he addressed the Software Publishing Associate Conference and threatening anyone publishing dBase-based or dBase-compatible products to "Make my day!" Following the disastrous launch of dBase IV, Esber was fired by the Ashton-Tate board
) to personal computers, Creative had just concluded one of the most successful IPOs in that time frame and was enjoying unprecedented growth. Creative's sales had grown to around $30M USD under Brown-Waugh (Creative's former distributor) and some of the proceeds of the IPO were used to buy-out the Brown-Waugh contract. This allowed Creative to regain control of its distribution and marketing and as a result the company grew revenue to over $500M in 1994. Mr. Samuels was replaced by Mr. Esber in 1994 as CEO of Creative Labs the US Subsidiary of Creative Technologies. Creative was experiencing some of the normal competition that rapid growth companies attracted. It was starting to be viewed as a "market laggard" but "current market share leader", while MediaVision was viewed as the market innovator although MediaVision management was later convicted of 27 counts of fraud and the then CEO Paul Jain and CFO Steve Allen each received jail terms. Its relations with Wall Street, the Press and its stockholders had deteriorated due to its dual listing on both the Singapore Exchange and NASDAQ (CREAf was the only dual listed stock at the time)( CREAf moved to a single exchange listing in 2003 Creative Press Release); it had strategic alliances with industry partners Intel and Microsoft; and though it struggled to create a long term strategic plan that the Singaporean founders would support, revenue and market share continued to climb. Under Esber’s leadership and that of the founders, Creative Technology
(parent company of Creative Labs), enjoyed a leading position in computer peripherals and upgrades with its product line of Integrated Multimedia technology. Mr. Esber left the company in 1994 just as the company generated over $1B in worldwide revenue.
.
of Case Western Reserve University
.
and is co-chair of the emeriti trustee committee of Case Western Reserve University
. In the past Esber has served on the boards of Activision
, Ashton Tate, SonicBlue. Pansophic Systems, Integrated Circuits System Technology and many private companies.
Ashton-Tate
Ashton-Tate was a US based software company best known for developing the popular dBASE database application. Ashton-Tate grew from a small garage-based company to become a multinational corporation...
and initiated its subsequent sale to Borland
Borland
Borland Software Corporation is a software company first headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, Cupertino, California and finally Austin, Texas. It is now a Micro Focus subsidiary. It was founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad and Philippe Kahn.-The 1980s:...
. Esber joined VisiCorp
VisiCorp
VisiCorp was an early personal computer software publisher. Its most famous products are VisiOn and VisiCalc.It was founded in 1976 by Dan Fylstra and Peter R. Jennings as Personal Software, and first published Jennings' Microchess program for the MOS Technology KIM-1 computer, and later Commodore...
(the publisher of VisiCalc
VisiCalc
VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program available for personal computers. It is often considered the application that turned the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool...
--the first spreadsheet)--as Exec VP of Sales and Marketing. He is credited with the successful marketing of the first productivity software for personal computing, making the way for the widespread acceptance of personal computers in business. Esber presently works as an angel investor in Silicon Valley, mentoring and financing the current generation of entrepreneurs and through his time and philanthropy his educational Alma maters.
Education
A native of Ohio, Edward M. Esber, Jr. graduated B.S. Computer Engineering degree form Case Institute of Technology (now [Case Western Reserve University]) in 1974. He later earned a M.S. Electrical Engineering from Syracuse UniversitySyracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
in 1976, He then went on to earn a Masters of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
, in 1978.
Early life
Esber was born in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, the oldest of eight children and attended Normandy High School, a public school in Parma, Ohio
Parma, Ohio
Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is the largest suburb of Cleveland and the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio...
. During his undergraduate education, he was one of the primary authors and programmers of a Management Simulation Game used to teach marketing at colleges called IMPS (Industrial Marketing Plan Simulation).
Early career
In 1974, Esber went to work for IBM Corporation, where he designed a floating point processor for an IBM minicomputer and worked on products in the Instrument Control Systems Division that included a Textile Color Analyzer and a Film Thickness Analyzer. He convinced IBM Corporation to take seriously the nascent microcomputer chips from Intel and MotorolaMotorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
. He was later tasked with creating and teaching a course to prepare IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
engineers to design with microprocessors. This seminal work led to IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
announcing and shipping the IBM Personal Computer based on an Intel microprocessor in the early 80s. During his career at IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, he earned his M.S. Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
in 1976. In 1976 he left for Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
and was tasked with preparing an exploratory report for IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
on the efficacy of controlling energy costs in the home with a personal computer.
In 1978, Esber went to work for Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
in their Consumer Products Division in Lubbock, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
working in product marketing on Personal Computers.
VisiCorp
In 1979, Dan Flystra recruited Esber to run worldwide sales and marketing for Personal Software (later renamed VisiCorpVisiCorp
VisiCorp was an early personal computer software publisher. Its most famous products are VisiOn and VisiCalc.It was founded in 1976 by Dan Fylstra and Peter R. Jennings as Personal Software, and first published Jennings' Microchess program for the MOS Technology KIM-1 computer, and later Commodore...
). Esber became the ninth employee and third shareholder. Esber launched VisiCalc
VisiCalc
VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program available for personal computers. It is often considered the application that turned the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool...
as the first personal computer application software that made buying a personal computer for business viable. He pioneered the distribution and marketing of personal computer software as he and VisiCorp
VisiCorp
VisiCorp was an early personal computer software publisher. Its most famous products are VisiOn and VisiCalc.It was founded in 1976 by Dan Fylstra and Peter R. Jennings as Personal Software, and first published Jennings' Microchess program for the MOS Technology KIM-1 computer, and later Commodore...
launched the first product line of productivity software (VisiCalc
VisiCalc
VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program available for personal computers. It is often considered the application that turned the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool...
, VisiWord, VisiFile, VisiPlot, VisiTrend and VisiDex), the first suite of office software (VisiPak) and the first WinTel
Wintel
Wintel is a portmanteau of Windows and Intel, referring to personal computers using Intel x86 compatible processors running Microsoft Windows...
graphical user interface for IBM compatible PCs (VisiON).
Ashton Tate
Esber took over Ashton Tate and made it one of the three leading personal computer software companies of its time (The 1980s PC Software Oligopoly of Ashton Tate, LotusLotus Software
Lotus Software is a software company with headquarters in Westford, Massachusetts...
and MicroSoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
). He turned dBase
DBASE
dBase II was the first widely used database management system for microcomputers. It was originally published by Ashton-Tate for CP/M, and later on ported to the Apple II and IBM PC under DOS...
into one of the longest running standards in the personal computer software industry and jointly introduced SQL Server
SQL Server
SQL Server may refer to:* Any database server that implements the Structured Query Language* Microsoft SQL Server, a relational database server from Microsoft* Sybase SQL Server, a relational database server developed by Sybase...
with MicroSoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. During Esber’s term as CEO, sales grew from about $40M to $311M.
During this time, Ashton-Tate acquired several companies, including Decision Resources and MultiMate. Both companies were past their prime and Esber resorted to channel-stuffing in order to mask poor sales. At one point, distributors had more than 2 years of MultiMate and Decision Resources software in their warehouses.
Esber sparked outrage among dBase developers and users by theatening to sue anyone publishing dBase-based products. At one point, he addressed the Software Publishing Associate Conference and threatening anyone publishing dBase-based or dBase-compatible products to "Make my day!" Following the disastrous launch of dBase IV, Esber was fired by the Ashton-Tate board
Creative Labs
When Mr. Esber joined Creative Labs, the company that brought sound (Sound BlasterSound Blaster
The Sound Blaster family of sound cards was the de facto standard for consumer audio on the IBM PC compatible system platform, until the widespread transition to Microsoft Windows 95, which standardized the programming interface at application level , and the evolution in PC design led to onboard...
) to personal computers, Creative had just concluded one of the most successful IPOs in that time frame and was enjoying unprecedented growth. Creative's sales had grown to around $30M USD under Brown-Waugh (Creative's former distributor) and some of the proceeds of the IPO were used to buy-out the Brown-Waugh contract. This allowed Creative to regain control of its distribution and marketing and as a result the company grew revenue to over $500M in 1994. Mr. Samuels was replaced by Mr. Esber in 1994 as CEO of Creative Labs the US Subsidiary of Creative Technologies. Creative was experiencing some of the normal competition that rapid growth companies attracted. It was starting to be viewed as a "market laggard" but "current market share leader", while MediaVision was viewed as the market innovator although MediaVision management was later convicted of 27 counts of fraud and the then CEO Paul Jain and CFO Steve Allen each received jail terms. Its relations with Wall Street, the Press and its stockholders had deteriorated due to its dual listing on both the Singapore Exchange and NASDAQ (CREAf was the only dual listed stock at the time)( CREAf moved to a single exchange listing in 2003 Creative Press Release); it had strategic alliances with industry partners Intel and Microsoft; and though it struggled to create a long term strategic plan that the Singaporean founders would support, revenue and market share continued to climb. Under Esber’s leadership and that of the founders, Creative Technology
Creative Technology
Creative Technology Ltd. is a Singapore-based global company headquartered in Jurong East, Singapore. The principal activities of the company and its subsidiaries consist of the design, manufacture and distribution of digitized sound and video boards, computers and related multimedia, and personal...
(parent company of Creative Labs), enjoyed a leading position in computer peripherals and upgrades with its product line of Integrated Multimedia technology. Mr. Esber left the company in 1994 just as the company generated over $1B in worldwide revenue.
Creative Insights
Founder of the first "Computer Toys Company", Creative Insights, Inc., and the "Toy Company of the Computer Age." A Computer Toy is a creative, compelling piece of hardware, which plugs into a standard multimedia personal computer and is aimed at a specific purpose, to be brought to life with equally compelling multimedia software, aimed at the same purpose.Other startups
After Esber’s pioneering work in Personal Computer Software, Esber has been on the leading edge of the integration of computers and multimedia at Creative Labs, the integration of computers, toys and learning at Creative Insights, the integration of computers, communication and telephony at SoloPoint; the mobilization of email and internet access at Poqet Computer, portability of Personal Computers at Poqet Computer and tablet computing at Motion ComputingMotion Computing
Motion Computing is a developer of slate Tablet PC computers located in Austin, Texas. Motion Computing focuses on vertical markets such as healthcare and government, though they have released home-oriented systems like their M-series which was also sold through Gateway Inc...
.
The Angels Forum and The Halo Funds
Esber was a founding member in 1997 of The Angels Forum, a professional, Silicon Valley based group of angel investors. He also is a member of the management team of The Halo Funds, a venture capital fund focused on early stage, seed investments in medical devices, Web 2.0/SaaS, consumer/retail and green technology companies based in Silicon Valley.Course Taught
Esber taught a course entitled “Starting and Running a Successful Startup” at the Weatherhead School of ManagementWeatherhead School of Management
The Weatherhead School of Management is a private business school of Case Western Reserve University located in Cleveland, Ohio. Weatherhead is considered a top-tier business school, with its strongest programs concentrated in organizational behavior, nonprofit business, information systems,...
of Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
.
Honors and awards
- BusinessWeek, "25 Executives to Watch,” April 15, 1988.
- Computer Reseller News, 1985&1986, "Industry's 25 Most Influential Execs."
- Esquire Magazine, 1986 Register Honoree, Business and Industry.
- So Ca Executive, "The Southland's 100 Outstanding Leaders in 1986."
Boards
Esber currently sits on the boards of Quantum Corporation, Panterra NetworksPanTerra Networks
PanTerra Networks is a cloud-based Unified Communications service provider. It has a true unified communication system that is a real Software as a Service offering...
and is co-chair of the emeriti trustee committee of Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
. In the past Esber has served on the boards of Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
, Ashton Tate, SonicBlue. Pansophic Systems, Integrated Circuits System Technology and many private companies.
Personal life
Esber is married to Margaret (Peggy) Esber and resides in Los Altos Hills. He has three children.External links
- Software History Museum Oral History
- VisiCalc WikiVisiCalcVisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program available for personal computers. It is often considered the application that turned the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool...
- Ed Esber's Website