The information superhighway has become a reality. The Internet - an interconnection of tens of thousands of public and private networks worldwide - today provides more than 30 million users with access to information from around the globe. This complex of networks forms the initial pathway for the global information revolution that will eventually link businesses, public and private agencies, and educational centers with one another and with consumers in their homes.
Navigating successfully through the mountains of data available on the Internet may be the greatest challenge of the information age. Recognizing this challenge, a team of staff and students from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois in 1993 created a graphical user interface that simplified Internet navigation. Called NCSA Mosaic, the research prototype - offered free to everyone on the Net - gained a following of an estimated two million users in a single year.
The success of NCSA Mosaic has created a demand for commercial-caliber software and services for global networks. Netscape Communications was founded to address this critical need.
Netscape Communications intends to be the premier provider of open software that enables people and companies to exchange information and conduct commerce over the Internet and other global networks. The company was founded in April 1994 by Dr. James H. Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics, Inc., a Fortune 500 computer-systems company; and Marc Andreessen, creator of the NCSA Mosaic software for the Internet.
AUGUST
San Jose Mercury News selects Mosaic Communications products for
on-line newspaper
SEPTEMBER
First products announced
OCTOBER
Netscape Navigator beta released on Net
OCTOBER
Company becomes founding member of W3 Consortium
NOVEMBER
First Data announces on-line payment processing using Netscape software
NOVEMBER
Company changes name to Netscape Communications Corporation
NOVEMBER
MCI selects Netscape software for internetMCI
NOVEMBER
Digital Equipment Corporation becomes first OEM of Netscape products
DECEMBER
Bank of America announces secure payment system using Netscape software
DECEMBER
Navigator, Commerce Server, and Communications Server ship
JANUARY 1995
MasterCard, Netscape announce relationship
JANUARY
Jim Barksdale joins as President and CEO
JANUARY
Silicon Graphics becomes Netscape OEM
FEBRUARY
Novell, Netscape sign strategic agreement
FEBRUARY
Delphi Internet, Netscape sign technology agreement
FEBRUARY
Company publishes SSLRef source code on Net
MARCH
Navigator 1.1 beta released on Net
MARCH
Major companies announce support for SSL
Jim Clark is chairman of Netscape Communications Corporation. Prior to founding the company, Clark was chairman of Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI), a computer-systems company he founded in 1982 that has annual revenues of $1.5 billion and is among the Fortune 500's fastest growing companies. Prior to founding SGI, Clark was an associate professor at Stanford University, where he and a team of graduate students developed the technology on which SGI was initially built.
Clark resigned as chairman of Silicon Graphics in February 1994 to undertake a new venture with the young programming team that created the widely used NCSA Mosaic graphical user interface. Clark holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Utah.
James Barksdale is president and chief executive officer at Netscape Communications. Previously, Barksdale was chief executive of AT&T Wireless Services, following the merger of AT&T and McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc., the largest provider of cellular services in the United States. In that position, he oversaw the daily operations of the business, guiding AT&T's efforts to maintain a leadership role in wireless communications. >From January 1992 until the merger, he held the positions of president and chief operating officer of McCaw, a company with revenues that exceeded $2 billion in 1993.
Prior to working at McCaw, Barksdale spent twelve years with Federal Express Corporation of Memphis, Tennessee. From 1979 to 1983 he served as chief information officer, overseeing the development and implementation of the company's world-renowned customer-service and package-tracking systems. In 1983, he became executive vice president and chief operating officer. Under his leadership, Federal Express became the first service company to receive the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award.
Marc Andreessen is vice president of technology for Netscape Communications. Andreessen developed the idea for the NCSA Mosaic Internet browser in the fall of 1992 while he was an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois and a staff member at the university's National Center for Supercomputing Applications in Champaign, Illinois. He created the friendly, easy-to-use navigational tool for the Internet with a team of students and staff at NCSA in early 1993.
In his role at Netscape Communications, Marc sets and oversees the technical direction of the company. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois in 1993.
In addition to Andreessen, Netscape Communications' core technical team includes five of the six other original NCSA Mosaic developers: Eric Bina, Rob McCool, Jon Mittelhauser, Aleks Totic, and Chris Houck. The team also includes Lou Montulli, author of Lynx, a text-based browser for the Internet; other University of Illinois alumni; and several top-notch software engineers formerly with Silicon Graphics, Inc., Lucid, and General Magic Corporation.
NETSCAPE EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM
Todd Rulon-Miller, vice president of sales and support. Before joining Netscape in October 1994, Rulon-Miller served as president and CEO of Software Alliance for two years. He spent the previous six years as vice president of North American Operations at NeXT, Inc.
Mike Homer, vice president of marketing. Prior to joining Netscape in October 1994, Homer served as vice president of engineering at EO Corporation and as vice president of marketing at GO Corporation from 1991 to 1993. Before that, he worked at Apple Computer, Inc. for nine years in a variety of technical and marketing positions.
Rick Schell, vice president of engineering. Dr. Schell, who joined Netscape in October 1994, previously spent more than two years as vice president and general manager of the Central Point Division of Symantec Corporation. From 1989 to 1993, he was vice president, Languages and dBase, at Borland International. He has also held a variety of management positions at Sun Microsystems and Intel Corporation.
Jim Sha, vice president and general manager of Integrated Applications. Before coming to Netscape Communications in August 1994, Sha spent four years as vice president of the UNIX Division of Oracle Corporation. From 1986 to 1990, he was vice president and general manager of the Advanced Systems Division of Wyse Technology.
Kandis Malefyt, vice president of human resources. Before joining the company in December 1994, Malefyt was director of human resources at Silicon Graphics, Inc., for six years. Prior to that she served as vice president of human resources at ISI in Philadelphia.
Find out more about Netscape at info@netscape.com.
Copyright © 1995 Netscape Communications Corporation