Benjamin "Ben" M. Rosen (born March 11, 1933) is the former chairman and former acting chief executive officer of

Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...

and a co-founder of Sevin Rosen Funds.

Early life

Rosen was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

on March 11, 1933 to Isadore and Anna Rosen. Rosen's father was a dentist and his mother was a secretary. "Benji" as he was called, was the youngest of his parents' three children. He received a B.S. from the California Institute of Technology in 1954, and M.S. from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1955, and an M.B.A. from

Columbia Business School Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and is one ...

in 1961.

Career

He worked on Wall Street for 15 years, ending his career as a Senior Technology Analyst and Vice President at

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

Sevin Rosen Funds

Rosen co-founded the venture capital company Sevin Rosen Funds in 1981 with

L. J. Sevin Leonce John "L. J." Sevin, Jr. (August 28, 1930 - September 12, 2015) was described by a Dallas newspaper, when he died, as "Mostek co-founder, venture capitalist." He was also co-founder of Sevin Rosen Funds. Career Sevin co-founded Mostek when, i ...

. In this capacity, Rosen invested in Compaq Computer Corporation in 1981, eventually serving as Chairman for 18 years. For four months in 1999, Rosen also served as Acting CEO. As a financier, Rosen backed high tech startup companies including

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

, Lotus Development, Ansa Software and

Silicon Graphics Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and soft ...

. In 1985, at age 52, he was described as "a late bloomer who has had five careers" and "chairman and general partner" of the fund.

Rosen Electronic Letter

Rosen Electronic Letter was distributed via a separate entity named Rosen Research. In 1982, Esther Dyson began working there and, in 1983 she bought the company from her employer, renaming the company EDventure Holdings and the ''Rosen Electronic Letter'' newsletter ''Release 1.0''.about which she wrote in 1997: "RELease 1.0 - get it?"

Awards

In 1999, Rosen was awarded the Founders Medal of the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

(IEEE). He was named a recipient of Caltech Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007. In 2018, he received Caltech's highest honor, the Robert A. Millikan Medal.

Family

He and his first wife Alexandra are the parents of their two sons, Jeffrey Rosen and Eric Rosen. He is married to Donna Perrett Rosen and also has a step-daughter, Melanie Perret.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosen, Benjamin M. 1933 births Living people California Institute of Technology alumni Columbia Business School alumni Businesspeople from New Orleans Stanford University alumni American company founders 20th-century American Jews American technology chief executives 21st-century American Jews