Dr. John Warnock was an American innovator, computer scientist, and businessman best known as the co-founder of Adobe Systems Inc. He was the inventor of PostScript and the PDF. John was President of Adobe for his first two years and Chairman and CEO for his next sixteen years at the company. He served as chairman of the board from April 1989 to January 2017, and remained an active member of Adobe’s board of directors until his passing. John pioneered the development of graphics, publishing, web and electronic document technologies that revolutionized the field of publishing and visual communications. For over three decades, John’s vision and passion were integral to Adobe’s success, building the company from a small start-up to one of the largest and most recognized technology brands in the world. John was highly respected as an innovator and entrepreneur, receiving numerous awards throughout his lifetime for technical and managerial achievement including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, one of the nation’s highest honors bestowed on scientists, engineers and inventors. John was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.

Fun Fact

John spent summers in college working for the U.S. Forest Service and fighting heavy timber forest fires in the mountains and big forests of Idaho, Utah, Wyoming – with axes and shovels, covered head-to-toe in ash.