Judith "Judy" L. Estrin (born 1954/1955)
is an American entrepreneur, business executive, and philanthropist. Estrin worked with
Vinton Cerf
Vinton Gray Cerf (; born June 23, 1943) is an American Internet pioneer and is recognized as one of " the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with TCP/IP co-developer Bob Kahn. He has received honorary degrees and awards that include ...
on the
Transmission Control Protocol
The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the main protocols of the Internet protocol suite. It originated in the initial network implementation in which it complemented the Internet Protocol (IP). Therefore, the entire suite is common ...
project at Stanford University in the 1970s.
Estrin is an entrepreneur who co-founded eight technology companies. She was the
chief technology officer of
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
from 1998 to 2000.
She is currently
CEO of JLABS, LLC, a privately held company focused on furthering innovation in business, government, and nonprofit organizations.
Early life and education
Estrin's parents,
Thelma
Thelma is a female given name. It was popularized by Victorian writer Marie Corelli who gave the name to the title character of her 1887 novel ''Thelma (novel), Thelma''. It may be related to a Greek word meaning "will, volition" see ''thelema''). ...
and
Gerald Estrin
Gerald Estrin (September 9, 1921 – March 29, 2012) was an American computer scientist, and professor at the UCLA Computer Science Department. He is known for his work on the organization of computer systems, on parallel processing and SARA ...
, were computer scientists at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
. Estrin is the middle of three sisters, each recognized for successful careers. Her sister,
Deborah Estrin, is a professor of computer science. Growing up, Estrin focused on academics, developing her knowledge and following the model of her parents. Estrin was passionate about
folk dance in high school.
She earned 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 ...
in mathematics and computer science from UCLA and 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
electrical engineering from
Stanford University in 1977. At Stanford, Estrin worked with the research group headed by
Vinton Cerf
Vinton Gray Cerf (; born June 23, 1943) is an American Internet pioneer and is recognized as one of " the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with TCP/IP co-developer Bob Kahn. He has received honorary degrees and awards that include ...
, an
Internet pioneer
Instead of having a single "inventor", the Internet was developed by many people over many years. The following are some Internet pioneers who contributed to its early and ongoing development. These include early theoretical foundations, specifyi ...
often called one of the "
fathers of the Internet". Cerf's team developed the specifications for
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, also known as TCP/IP.
Her specific role within the research team was to help with the initial tests of the
TCP.
She also investigated
Ethernet
Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1 ...
technology, which connected computers in the local area together.
Career
After Stanford, she worked at a
startup semiconductor company called
Zilog Corporation that had separated from Intel, where she contributed to the design of the
Z8 and
Z8000 microprocessors. She led the team that developed one of the first commercial
local area network
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building. By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger ...
systems called Z-net.
At Zilog, Estrin decided to create a company focused on networks, which were experiencing a boom at that time. She wanted to work in a marketing role, where she could explain what networks did and how they worked.
In 1981, Estrin co-founded
Bridge Communications with her husband, whom she later divorced. Bridge Communications manufactured
network routers,
bridges
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...
, and communications
servers. Bridge became a
publicly traded company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...
in 1985, and merged with
3Com
3Com Corporation was an American digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney and others. Bill Krause joined as President in 1981. Metcalfe e ...
in 1987. While her husband focused on administration, Estrin ran the technology and engineering side, and became director of marketing and sales. After the merger with 3Com, Estrin and her husband had problems co-managing, and left the company nine months later.
In 1988, they offered to join the founding team of
Network Computing Devices
Network Computing Devices (NCD) was a company founded in 1987 to produce a new class of products now known as a thin client. It was founded in Mountain View, CA, and when it closed it was headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon.
The corporate founde ...
(NCD) as executive vice president, later becoming president and CEO in 1993.
In 1995, six months after leaving NCD, Estrin co-founded
Precept Software, Inc., which developed networking software. She served as its president and CEO until its acquisition by
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
in 1998, when she became its
chief technology officer and senior vice president of Cisco Systems until 2000.
Estrin was listed as one of the "50 most powerful businesswomen in the United States" by ''
Fortune'' in 1998.
In 2000, Estrin co-founded
Packet Design
Packet Design is an Austin, Texas-based network performance management software company credited with pioneering route analytics technology. This network monitoring technology analyzes routing protocols and structures in meshed IP networks by par ...
, LLC, a networking technology company, with her husband
William N. Carrico, Jr., with $24 million in funding from the venture firm Foundation Capital and private investors, including Estrin, Carrico,
James Barksdale
James Love Barksdale (born January 24, 1943) is an American executive who served as the president and CEO of Netscape from January 1995 until the company merged with AOL in March 1999.
Early life
James Barksdale was born in Jackson, Mississippi. ...
,
Bill Joy
William Nelson Joy (born November 8, 1954) is an American computer engineer and venture capitalist. He co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982 along with Scott McNealy, Vinod Khosla, and Andy Bechtolsheim, and served as Chief Scientist and CTO at ...
, and
Frank Quattrone
Frank Quattrone (born 1955) is an American technology investment banker who started technology sector franchises at Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse First Boston. He helped bring dozens of technology companies public during the 19 ...
. Packet Design later
spun out
''Spun Out'' is a Canadian television sitcom created by Jeff Biederman, Brent Piaskoski and Brian K. Roberts for CTV. It premiered on March 6, 2014 and ended on October 3, 2015, with a total of 26 episodes over the course of 2 seasons.
Premise
T ...
three venture-backed
startups
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...
, including Packet Design, Inc. At Packet Design, she worked on advanced network technology. During this time, she divorced her husband. She served as CEO of Packet Design, LLC, until it was dissolved, distributing its assets to investors in late 2007. After Packet Design, she created JLABS, LLC, which she considered a way to pursue her interests in innovation and leadership.
She became the CEO of
Evntlive
Evntlive is an interactive digital concert venue that allows music fans worldwide to stream concerts to their computer, tablet, or phone. Based in Redwood City, CA, EVNTLIVE Beta launched on April 15, 2013. EVNTLIVE provides users with the ability ...
, a tech company founded by her son
David Carrico, in 2013.
Author
Estrin is the author of ''Closing the Innovation Gap: Reigniting the Spark of Creativity in a Global Economy'' (
McGraw-Hill
McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes refere ...
; Hardcover, September 2008), which challenges national, academic and business leaders to work together to make the United States competitive again. In this book, she discusses different levels of success.
Board positions
Estrin served on the boards of
FedEx Corporation
FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fed ...
(1989-2010),
Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. is an American provider of industrial automation whose brands include Allen-Bradley, FactoryTalk software and LifecycleIQ Services.
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 ...
(1994-1998),
Sun Microsystems (1995-2003), as well as the
Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
, where she served for fifteen years (1998-2014).
She served on the Innovation Advisory Board of America COMPETES in 2011.
References
Further reading
* Estrin, Judy
"Nature or Nurture: My Life in Technology, So Far" Computer History Museum
* Estrin, Judy, Closing the Innovation Gap: Reigniting the Spark of Creativity in a Global Economy, McGraw-Hill, September 2008
External links
Women Who Inspire Us, Judy Estrin Stanford University
Podcast Interview as one of NCWIT's Entrepreneurial HeroesClosing the Innovation GapJLABS, LLC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estrin, Judith
1950s births
Living people
American chief technology officers
American corporate directors
American technology chief executives
American technology company founders
American women chief executives
Cisco people
Directors of The Walt Disney Company
Internet pioneers
Stanford University School of Engineering alumni
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Women chief technology officers
American women company founders
American company founders
Women corporate directors
Women Internet pioneers