Dr. John Warnock speaks at San Jose City Hall where he and his Adobe inc. partner Dr. Charles Geschke were being honored on Dec. 1, 2009.Photo:Patrick Tehan/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty
Patrick Tehan/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty
John Warnock, the co-founder of Adobe Systems who helped invent the PDF, has died, the tech companyannouncedSunday. He was 82.
“It is with profound sadness that I share that our beloved co-founder Dr. John Warnock passed away at the age of 82,” Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said in an email to all employees. “John’s brilliance and technology innovations changed the world. It is a sad day for the Adobe community and the industry for which he has been an inspiration for decades.”
The entrepreneur co-founded Adobe in 1982 with Dr. Charles Geschke after the duo met as colleagues at Xerox. He would go on to invent Adobe PostScript, which the company said was “groundbreaking technology that sparked the desktop publishing revolution.” Warnock retired in 2000 and co-chaired the company board with Geschke until 2017.
“His vision and passion enabled Adobe to deliver groundbreaking innovations such as Illustrator, the ubiquitous PDF file format and Acrobat, Photoshop and Premiere Pro, defining the desktop era and unleashing creativity and opportunity for millions of people,” Narayen added, calling his interactions with Warnock “the highlight of my professional career.”
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“While he was my role model and mentor, I am most grateful to count him as a friend,” the CEO added.
For his achievements,President Barack Obama awarded Warnock with the 2008 National Medal of Technology and Innovation. He also received the Computer Entrepreneur Award from the IEEE Computer Society, the American Electronics Association Medal of Achievement and the Marconi Prize for contributions to information science and communications.
“While the impact that his innovations have had are countless, it is his indomitable spirit, passion and belief in building a company with strong values that has impacted all of us who have had the good fortune of working at Adobe,” Narayen said.
“My thoughts are with Marva and his entire family,” Narayen continued. “There is nothing he would like more than to continue his amazing legacy so let’s continue to make him proud.”
Adobe Systems Incorporated made People’s annual 100 Companies That Care list in 2023. To nominate a business demonstrating outstanding respect for its employees, community and the environment, visitGreat Place to Work.
source: people.com
