Arthur Rock


Arthur Rock is an American businessman and investor. Based in Silicon Valley, California, he was an early investor in major firms including Intel, Apple Computer, Scientific Data Systems and Teledyne.

Early life

Rock was born and raised in Rochester, New York, in a Jewish family. He was an only child and his father owned a small candy store where Rock worked as a youth. He joined the U.S. Army during World War II but the war ended before he was deployed. He then went to college on the G.I. Bill. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in business administration from Syracuse University in 1948 and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1951.

Career

Rock started his career in 1951 as a securities analyst in New York City, and then joined the corporate finance department of Hayden, Stone & Company in New York, where he focused on raising money for small high-technology companies. In 1957, when the "traitorous eight" left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, Rock was the one who helped them find a place to go: he convinced Sherman Fairchild to start Fairchild Semiconductor.
In 1961, he moved to California. Along with Thomas J. Davis, Jr., he formed the San Francisco venture capital firm Davis & Rock.
Rock was a member of Apple Inc.'s board when Steve Jobs was ousted in the 1980s.
In 2003, Rock donated $25 million to the Harvard Business School to establish the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship.

Awards

He is married to lawyer Toni Rembe. Together with his wife, Rock has been a supporter of Teach For America. The organization's annual Social Innovation Award is named in their honor.
Rock was portrayed by actor J. K. Simmons in the 2013 biographical drama Jobs.