Delbert W. Yocam (born December 24, 1943) is a former
US chairman and CEO of
Borland
Borland Software Corporation was a computer technology company founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad and Philippe Kahn. Its main business was the development and sale of software development and software deployment product ...
, former president, COO and director of
Tektronix
Tektronix, Inc., historically widely known as Tek, is an American company best known for manufacturing test and measurement devices such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment.
Originally an independent ...
and a former
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
executive. At Apple, during the 1980s, Yocam ran the
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
group and later became Apple's first
chief operating officer
A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...
(COO). He served on the board of directors at
Adobe Systems
Adobe Inc. ( ), originally called Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American multinational computer software company incorporated in Delaware
and headquartered in San Jose, California. It has historically specialized in software for the crea ...
.
Education
Yocam has a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in
business administration
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
and a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from
California State University
The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...
and was honored as a "distinguished alumnus" in 1988 and 1999. He completed Directors' College at
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...
in 1996 and 2003, and also at the
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...
in 2005. Yocam also completed Harvard's Executive Education program "Making Corporate Boards More Effective" at
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
in 2005.
Career
Yocam started his business career with management positions at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s and moved into technology in the 1970s. Prior to his ten years at Apple Computer, Inc., Yocam held positions with
Control Data Corp.,
Computer Automation, Inc., and the
Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp.
He joined
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
in 1979 as vice president of manufacturing and operations. He was the executive vice president and general manager of the
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
group from 1983 until 1985. From 1986 until 1988, he served as executive vice president and Apple's first chief operating officer (COO). After three years as COO, Yocam became president of Apple Pacific. In this position, Yocam was responsible for strengthening Apple's markets in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, while investing in emerging markets in the
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
and
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. He retired from Apple on his tenth anniversary in 1989.
Yocam was president, chief operating officer (COO), and a board director of
Tektronix
Tektronix, Inc., historically widely known as Tek, is an American company best known for manufacturing test and measurement devices such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment.
Originally an independent ...
, Inc. He joined the
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, in the U.S. state of Oregon with a small portion bordering Portland in the Tualatin Valley. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was 97,494 at the ...
, manufacturer of test and measurement equipment,
computer graphics
Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...
products, and television systems in 1992. He is credited with turning around the company, providing eight consecutive quarters of improved core operating income and with refocusing the company's research and development spending, so that more than 50 percent of revenues came from new products, compared with 22 percent in 1991. He was originally tapped to replace the CEO, Jerry Meyer, on Meyer's retirement, but when Meyer put those plans on hold, Yocam quit.
[Rogoway, Mike (May 20, 2014]
Former Apple, Tektronix executive arrested on bad checks warrant
oregonlive.com His three-year contract was completed in 1995.
Yocam was chairman and CEO of
Borland International, Inc.,
Scotts Valley
Scotts Valley is a small city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about thirty miles (48 km) south of downtown San Jose and six miles (10 km) north of the city of Santa Cruz, in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mount ...
, California, a provider of software and services from 1996 through 1999. He resigned after the acquisition of Visigenics Software was completed in 1999 and the company posted a $10.5 million loss for the 3rd quarter.
Board positions
Yocam served on the board of directors of Adobe Systems Inc. (1991–2009), Oracle Corp. (1992–1997)
, Softricity, Inc. (2001–2006) (acquired by Microsoft, Inc. in 2006), Xircom, Inc. (1996–2001) (acquired by Intel Corp. in 2001), Raster Graphics, Inc. (1995–1999), Hollywood Park, Inc. (1997–1998), Boomtown, Inc. (1995–1997) (acquired by Hollywood Park, Inc. in 1997), Integrated Measurement Systems, Inc. (1995–1997),
Sapiens International Corp. (1995–1997), and AST Research, Inc. (1992–1995).
Yocam served on the board of directors of The Tech Museum of Innovation (1987–1990, Vice Chairman 1989–1990) on the national board of directors of the American Electronics Association (1989), and on the special advisory council to the Office of Technology Assessment of the United States Congress (1986–1988).
References
Further reading
* ''A Conversation with Del Yocam'' – Nathan Bennett & Stephen A. Mile (pg. 110–115), ''Riding Shotgun, the Role of the COO'' (2006) , Stanford Business Books
* ''Miracle Men'' – Kenny MacIver & Robert L. Glass (pg. 13–20), ''Computing Calamities: Lessons Learned From Products, Projects, and Companies that Failed'' (1998) , Prentice Hall PTR
External links
MacObserver – A Look Back At Apple People & Apple HistoryDevX Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yocam, Del
Living people
1943 births
Apple Inc. executives
Businesspeople from Oregon
California State University alumni
University of Delaware alumni
Tektronix people
American chief operating officers