Arthur Rock
Arthur Rock (born August 19, 1926) is an American businessman and investor. Based in Silicon Valley, California, he was an early investor in major firms including Intel, Apple Computer, Scientific Data Systems and Teledyne.[1]
Arthur Rock | |
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Arthur Rock in January 2003 | |
Born | |
Alma mater | Syracuse University (B.A., 1948) Harvard Business School (MBA, 1951) |
Occupation | Venture capitalist |
Known for | early investor in Intel, Apple Computer |
Spouse(s) | Toni Rembe |
Early life
Rock was born and raised in Rochester, New York, in a Jewish family.[2][3][4] He was an only child and his father owned a small candy store where Rock worked as a youth.[4] He joined the U.S. Army during World War II but the war ended before he was deployed.[4] He then went to college on the G.I. Bill.[4] He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in business administration from Syracuse University in 1948 and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1951.[5]
Career
Rock started his career in 1951 as a securities analyst in New York City, and then joined the corporate finance department of Hayden, Stone & Company in New York, where he focused on raising money for small high-technology companies.[6] In 1957, when the "traitorous eight" left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, Rock was the one who helped them find a place to go: he convinced Sherman Fairchild to start Fairchild Semiconductor.[7]
In 1961, he moved to California. Along with Thomas J. Davis, Jr., he formed the San Francisco venture capital firm Davis & Rock.[8]
Rock was a member of Apple Inc.'s board when Steve Jobs was ousted in the 1980s.[9]
In 2003, Rock donated $25 million to the Harvard Business School to establish the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship.[6]
Awards
- 1987 EY Entrepreneur of The Year Award Recipient, Northern California Region.
Personal life
He is married to lawyer Toni Rembe.[10] Together with his wife, Rock has been a supporter of Teach For America. The organization's annual Social Innovation Award is named in their honor.[11]
Rock was portrayed by actor J. K. Simmons in the 2013 biographical drama Jobs.
See also
- Rock's law
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2018-04-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Among America's Mega- Donors, Many Jews, but Few Gifts to Jews". Jewish Telegraph Agency. February 24, 2004. Archived from the original on July 5, 2018.
- Video on YouTube
- Harvard Business School: "ARTHUR ROCK" retrieved October 8, 2015 Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- Interview with Rob Walker Archived 2003-08-11 at the Wayback Machine on November 12, 2002 as part of The Silicon Genesis Project Archived 2004-11-22 at the Wayback Machine with Stanford University
- "Harvard Business School Receives $25 Million from Venture Capitalist Arthur Rock" (Press release). Harvard Business School. 2003-01-31. Archived from the original on 17 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
- "Arthur Rock". HBS Bulletin Online. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
- "Arthur Rock: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". investing.businessweek.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2018-04-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Stanford Launches the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance" (Press release). Business Wire. 6 March 2006. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- "The Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Social Innovation Award". Teach For America. Archived from the original on 2020-02-06. Retrieved 2020-02-06.