Synopsis An Early Start in Technology He graduated from Tufts University in 1988 with a degree in computer science and went to work for a company that developed Macintosh software. Later, he worked for the Apple subsidiary Claris and then helped start a software company in 1991 called Ink Development Corp. The company later changed its name to eShop and was purchased by Microsoft in 1996. Launch of eBay Omidyar was by this time working for General Magic, an Internet phone venture backed by Apple. However, by then his auction site was growing by leaps and bounds. Nine months after the company’s first auction launched, he quit his day job to devote himself full time to eBay. In May 1998, Omidyar was named eBay’s chairman, at which time he announced the appointment of Meg Whitman as president and CEO. eBay continued to thrive under the direction of Whitman, who expanded the company’s services through new site launches (in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom), acquisitions and joint ventures. Commercial Success In January 2000, Omidyar accepted his first board position outside of eBay. He joined the board of directors of ePeople, an online marketplace for technical support. He later started the philanthropic firm Omidyar Network. With an avowed interest in journalism, he also launched First Look Media in collaboration with Glenn Greenwald, the former Guardian reporter who published government documents leaked by the National Security Agency’s Edward Snowden. The company’s first online publication appeared in early 2014, The Intercept. The venture stresses “the fundamental importance of a free and independent press” for a democratic society, according to Omidyar in a statement. Omidyar is wed to Pamela Wesley, with the couple having three children. Source : https://www.biography.com/people/pierre-omidyar-9542205 |