Mr. Regis P McKenna

In their Millennium 100 list, San Jose Mercury News named Regis McKenna one of the 100 people who made Silicon Valley what it is today. McKenna founded his high tech marketing firm, Regis McKenna, Inc., in Silicon Valley in 1970. He and his firm helped launch some of the most important technological innovations of the last forty years including the first microprocessor (Intel Corporation), the first personal computer (Apple Computer), the first recombinant DNA genetically engineered product (Genentech, Inc.), and the first retail computer store (The Byte Shop). McKenna worked with many entrepreneurial start-ups during their formation years including: America Online, Apple, Compaq, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Intel, Linear Technology, Lotus, Microsoft, National Semiconductor, Silicon Graphics and 3COM. McKenna has been an investor in high tech start-ups and was a General Partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. As an angel investor, he provided seed financing to Weblogic, the first application server, and helped build that company’s management team. BEA acquired Weblogic in 1998. McKenna also was co-founder of BroadWare Technology. The company developed and marketed a high-availability video server. (Acquired by Cisco in 2007). McKenna writes and lectures on the social and market effects of technological Change, advancing innovations in marketing theories and practices. McKenna is the author of numerous articles and five books on marketing. His most recent books are “Real Time, Preparing For the Age Of The Never Satisfied Customer” (1997), and “Total Access” (2001). McKenna is a founding member of Santa Clara University Center for Science, Technology & Society, and a trustee of Santa Clara University since 1986. He is on the board of a number of entrepreneurial high technology companies. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, McKenna attended Saint Vincent College and received his BA degree from Duquesne University.