Randy Komisar is an American technology attorney, executive, and author living in Silicon Valley, California. Komisar is the co-founder of Claris, former CEO of Lucas Arts Entertainment, Chief Financial OfficerofGO Corp, and the "virtual CEO" of TiVo.
Komisar attended Brown University for undergraduate studies and received a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He practiced law in the Boston area until he managed the legal aspects of the acquisition of PixarbySteve Jobs.[1] Following the acquisition, he went to work for Apple, where he worked on the project to license the Macintosh operating systemstoApollo Computer. Following the refusal of the board to license the operating system, Komisar accepted a job to co-found Claris.[2]
Apple decided to spin software products off to a third party, creating Claris in 1987. Komisar was asked by Bill Campbell to become a co-founder of the company and ran a number of acquisitions. While at Claris, Komisar negotiated deals with Filemaker, which the company would morph into over time, but failed to negotiate an attempt to acquire Quark.
Claris would later announce intentions to go public. Apple declined the option for Claris to file for an initial public offering, leading to each executive selling their shares.[3]
Komisar would go on to work with a number of notable technology startups:
Komisar has written a number of books about entrepreneurialism and venture capital:
