Bruce Chizen


Bruce R. Chizen is an American executive. He was the chief executive officer of Adobe Systems from 2000 to 2007.

Career

From 1980 to 1983, he worked in Mattel Electronics' merchandising group, helping it grow into a US$500 million business. In 1983, Chizen joined Microsoft as the company's eastern region sales director.
In 1987, he joined Claris as a founding senior manager and later held positions as vice president of sales and of worldwide marketing before becoming vice president and general manager of Claris Clear Choice.
In 1994 Aldus Corporation hired Chizen to run its Consumer Division in San Diego. Later that year, Aldus was acquired by Adobe Systems and Chizen became vice president and general manager of consumer products. He was named CEO of Adobe in April 2000. His most notable action as CEO was the acquisition of Macromedia. In an interview, Chizen stated that the primary reason for acquiring Macromedia was to get Flash. During his 14 years at the company, Chizen engaged in transforming Adobe from a developer of graphics and publishing software into a leading diverse supplier of design, media, and business tools. On November 12, 2007, Adobe Systems announced that Bruce Chizen would step down from his role as chief executive officer effective December 1, to be replaced by Shantanu Narayen, Adobe's current president and chief operating officer.

Current status

Bruce Chizen is a senior advisor for private-equity firm Permira and has been a venture partner with Voyager Capital since 2009.. He also sits on the boards of Informatica, Oracle Corporation, Synopsys, Elemental Technologies, and NDS, a pay TV technology company. Chizen also sits on several nonprofit boards, including the and of .

Education

Chizen earned a B.S. from Brooklyn College in 1978.

Personal life

Chizen lives in Los Altos, California with his wife and children.