Rob Glaser
Born
Robert Denis Glaser[1]

January 16, 1962 (1962-01-16) (age 62)
New York City, New York, U.S.[1]
Alma materYale University
Occupation(s)business executive - founder and CEO of RealNetworks
Spouse(s)Sarah Block (second marriage, m. 2000)[1]
Cori Durant
​
(m. 2004)​
[2]

Robert Denis Glaser (born January 16, 1962, in New York City, New York[1]) is the founder of RealNetworks, which produces RealAudio, RealVideo, RealPlayer, and Helix, among other products and services. Before founding RealNetworks, he had become a millionaire by working for Microsoft for ten years.[3]

Glaser, while chief executive of RealNetworks, clashed repeatedly with Tony Fadell, widely known as the Godfather of the iPhone and iPod, who then left the company after 6 weeks and went on to founding the products for Apple.[4]

Glaser is a graduate of Yale University with an BS degree in Computer Science and an MA in Economics.

On June 16, 2004, Glaser received the Music Visionary Award, along with EMI Vice Chairman David Munns, from the Music for Youth Foundation, and the United Jewish Appeal.[5]

Glaser was the 22nd largest individual donor to 527 groups in the 2004 US election, donating over $2.2 million to pro-Democratic organizations.[6] He was the leading creditor to Air America Radio, loaning at least $9.8 million according to its bankruptcy filing.[7] In addition, along with economist Jeffrey Sachs and public health expert Josh Ruxin, Glaser founded the Access Project, an NGO dedicated to improving health care in Rwanda by increasing management capacity at health centers.[8] In 1999, Glaser established the Glaser Progress Foundation, "to build a more just, sustainable and humane world."[9] From 2011 to 2015, foundation assets have shrunk from $9 million to $5.7 million; annual grants have shrunk from $1.5 million to $267,000; overhead and expenses have grown slightly from $455,000 to $525,000.[10] In 2016, he set up a web site (PutinTrump.org) to monitor and report then-candidate Donald Trump's connections to Vladimir Putin.[11]

Since June 2010, Glaser has been a partner at global venture firm, Accel Partners, focusing on digital media technology, social media, and mobile service investments.[12] He returned to RealNetworks again as interim CEO in 2012 and resumed the official title of CEO in 2014.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "'Rob Glaser' in "NNDB tracking the entire world"". Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  2. ^ "Dave and Friends: Rob Glaser wedding reception". Retrieved September 23, 2009.
  3. ^ Lee, Allen (2019-06-23). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Rob Glaser". Money Inc. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  4. ^ "Godfather of iPod Severs Final Ties With Apple". The New York Times. March 29, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  5. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-03-03. Retrieved 2011-02-16.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "Top Individual Contributors to 527 Committees, 2004 Election Cycle". 2004. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  7. ^ Free Fall Radio: Air America Goes Bankrupt
  8. ^ Global HIV/AIDS Archived 2012-03-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  9. ^ "Rob Glaser".
  10. ^ Glaser Progress Foundation financials
  11. ^ "The Dangers of the Putin-Trump Relationship". The Atlantic. 21 September 2016.
  12. ^ Accel Partners; Rob Glaser, Founder of RealNetworks, Joins Accel Partners. (2010, June). Chemicals & Chemistry,1222. Retrieved March 30, 2011, from Sciences Module. (Document ID: 2047918931).
  13. ^ "Rob Glaser is officially back as RealNetworks CEO, shedding 'interim' title after two years". GeekWire. 2014-07-30. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  14. ^ VentureBeat The boomerang kid: Rob Glaser on his return to RealNetworks

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