Mark Howard Gorton (born November 7, 1966) is the creator of

LimeWire LimeWire was a free peer-to-peer file sharing client for Windows, MacOS, Linux and Solaris. Created by Mark Gorton in 2000, it was most prominently a tool used for the download and distribution of pirated materials, particularly pirated mus ...

, a peer-to-peer file sharing client for the Java Platform, and chief executive of the Lime Group. Lime Group, based in New York, owns LimeWire as well as Lime Brokerage LLC (a stock brokerage), Tower Research Capital LLC (a hedge fund), and LimeMedical LLC (a medical software company). Gorton has been a key figure in ''

Arista Records LLC v. Lime Group LLC ''Arista Records LLC v. Lime Group LLC'', 715 F. Supp. 2d 481 (S.D.N.Y. 2010), is a United States district court case in which the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Southern District of New York held that Lime Gr ...

''. Gorton is involved in various green lifestyle issues especially those having to do with transportation. At one point, Gorton was the single largest supporter of

Transportation Alternatives Transportation Alternatives (TransAlt, formerly T.A.) is a non-profit organization in New York City which works to change New York City's transportation priorities to encourage and increase non-polluting, quiet, city-friendly travel and decrease a ...

, the New York City-based advocacy group for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit. In 1999 he founded

OpenPlans Open Plans is a non-profit that advocates for making the streets of New York City livable for all residents. Open Plans uses tactical urbanism, grassroots advocacy, policy and targeted journalism to promote structural reforms within city governm ...

, a non-profit organization that developed

GeoServer In computing, GeoServer is an open-source server written in Java that allows users to share, process and edit geospatial data. Designed for interoperability, it publishes data from any major spatial data source using open standards. GeoServer h ...

, a collaborative open source project encouraging green urban planning initiatives. In 2009

Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...

named Gorton one of "50 visionaries who are changing your world". In 2005 Gorton backed The New York City Streets Renaissance Campaign (NYSCR). Two of the best known projects of NYSCR are

Streetsblog Open Plans is a non-profit that advocates for making the streets of New York City livable for all residents. Open Plans uses tactical urbanism, grassroots advocacy, policy and targeted journalism to promote structural reforms within city governm ...

and Streetfilms. Gorton owns Tower Research Capital LLC, a financial services firm he started in 1998, which trades through its affiliate, Lime Brokerage LLC. Prior to that he spent 4½ years in the

proprietary trading Proprietary trading (also known as prop trading) occurs when a trader trades stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, their derivatives, or other financial instruments with the firm's own money (instead of using depositors' money) in order to m ...

department of Credit Suisse First Boston (now Credit Suisse). Gorton holds a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, a Master's in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, and an MBA from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. He began his career as an electrical engineer for Martin Marietta (now part of Lockheed Martin), and, following his interests in business, entered the world of fixed-income trading at Credit Suisse First Boston prior to going out on his own and launching the Lime Group of companies.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorton, Mark 1966 births Living people Stanford University School of Engineering alumni Harvard Business School alumni Yale University alumni Sustainable transport pioneers