Blake Krikorian

Blake G. Krikorian (August 18, 1967 – August 3, 2016) was an American technology executive and entrepreneur, co-founder of Sling Media.

Blake G. Krikorian
Born(1967-08-18)August 18, 1967[1]
Santa Clara County, California, U.S.
DiedAugust 3, 2016(2016-08-03) (aged 48)
Pacifica, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of California at Los Angeles
Known forSlingbox co-founder
Board member ofAndreessen Horowitz
Amazon.com
Microsoft
FreeWheel
Children2
RelativesAdam Krikorian (brother)

Early life and education

Krikorian was born into an Armenian-American family, the eldest son of Gary Krikorian and Joyce (née Srabian). Krikorian graduated from Mountain View High School in Mountain View, California, and in 1989 earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.[2][3] In high school he was an all-league water polo player and swimmer and was chosen for the Junior National Team in water polo in 1985; he played water polo for the UCLA Bruins from 1986 to 1989.[2]

Career

Krikorian worked first at General Magic, then in 1994 was a co-founder of Philips Mobile Computing Group, where he was Group Product Manager. He then became Senior Vice President at Metis Associates and led its incubation of Mainbrace Corporation.[3]

In 2004 he co-founded Sling Media, a consumer electronics company that builds the Slingbox, with his brother Jason Krikorian.[4][5][6] He served as its CEO. It was purchased in 2007 by Echostar Communications for $380 million;[7][8] Krikorian remained CEO and a company director until 2009. In January that year he became CEO of id8 Group Productions, where he founded id8 Group R2 Studios in 2011;[3][4] after that company's acquisition by Microsoft, he became head of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business division.[3][7]

Krikorian served on the boards of a number of companies, including Amazon.com in 2011–2012.[3][7] He was also a board partner at the venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz[6] and was an angel investor in companies including Clicker.com, FreeWheel,[7] Jaunt,[5] Doppler Labs, and Thync.[6]

Personal life and death

Krikorian's brother Adam coached the US women's water polo team to gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Olympics.[6] He was married and had two daughters. He died of a heart attack on August 3, 2016, at the age of 48, after paddleboarding in Pacifica, California.[7][5]

References
  1. "Blake G Krikorian, Born 08/18/1967 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  2. "UCLA Alumnus Blake Krikorian Has Died at 48". UCLA Bruins Men's Water Polo. 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  3. "Blake G. Krikorian: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  4. Dale, Brady (2016-08-08). "Slingbox Founder and True Lover of Tech Dies at 48". The New York Observer. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  5. Evangelista, Benny (2016-08-04). "Blake Krikorian, Slingbox co-founder, tech investor, dies". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  6. Spangler, Todd (2016-08-04). "Blake Krikorian, Sling Co-Founder and Tech Entrepreneur, Dies at 48". Variety. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  7. Swisher, Kara (2016-08-04). "Beloved Silicon Valley entrepreneur Blake Krikorian has died at 48". Recode. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  8. Oreskovic, Alexei (2016-08-04). "Blake Krikorian, the founder of Slingbox, has died". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
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