Technology entrepreneur John Warnock, co-founder of software firm Adobe, died on Saturday at age 82, the company said.
The cause of death was not disclosed.
Dr Warnock created the San Jose-based company in 1982 with Dr Charles Geschke and served as chief executive officer until 2000 and as chief technical officer until his retirement in 2001.
He was also chairman of the board for nearly three decades until 2017, sharing that position with Dr Geschke for most of that time.
Dr Warnock remained on the company’s board of directors until his death.
Dr Geschke died in 2021 at the age of 81.
The pair first met as colleagues at Xerox Holdings. Their first product was PostScript, which helped spark the desktop publishing revolution.
Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayen wrote in an e-mail to employees: “My interactions with John over the past 25 years have been the highlight of my professional career. While he was my role model and mentor, I am most grateful to count him as a friend.”
Before founding Adobe, Dr Warnock was a principal scientist at Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre and held positions at Evans & Sutherland Computer, Computer Sciences, IBM and the University of Utah, according to the company’s biography.
Dr Warnock held a doctorate in electrical engineering, a master’s degree in mathematics and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and philosophy, all from the University of Utah.
He is survived by his wife, Marva, and three children. BLOOMBERG
