Col Needham
{{short description|English entrepreneur}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Col Needham
| image = Col Needham.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Needham in January 2002
| birth_name = Colin Needham
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|1|26|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Denton, Lancashire, England
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Computer scientist
| spouse = {{marriage|Karen Gaskin|1989}}
| children = 2
}}
Colin Needham (born 26 January 1967) is an English computer scientist who founded the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). He was its chief executive officer from its creation in 1990 until 2025, when he stepped down and instead took a role as its executive chairman.
Early life
Needham was born on 26 January 1967 in Denton, Lancashire.{{efn|Denton was in Lancashire until it was moved to the newly formed Greater Manchester in 1974.}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/28/business/yourmoney/28frenzy.html|title=From a Small Stream, a Gusher of Movie Facts|work=The New York Times|first=Richard|last=Siklos|date=28 May 2006|accessdate=19 October 2009}} He attended Audenshaw School and Clarendon Sixth Form College in Hyde, Cheshire,{{efn|Hyde was in Cheshire until it was moved to the newly formed Greater Manchester in 1974.}} and graduated from the University of Leeds with a BSc (Hons) in computer science in 1988.{{cite web |last=Glendinning |first=Amy |date=11 January 2011 |title=I am IMDb: The millionaire film geek from Denton behind the world's top movie website |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/i-am-imdb-the-millionaire-film-geek-851365 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112170758/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1404888_i_am_imdb_the_millionaire_film_geek_from_denton_behind_the_worlds_top_movie_website |archive-date=12 November 2012 |accessdate=20 November 2024 |website=Manchester Evening News}}
Career
Needham started the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) in 1990 while working as an engineer at Hewlett-Packard (HP) in Bristol.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1000000/bio|title=Col Needham Biography|publisher=IMDb|date=|accessdate=18 October 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/imdb-col-needham-ceo-nikki-santoro-1236277656/|title=IMDb Founder Col Needham Steps Aside as CEO, COO Nikki Santoro Promoted to Chief Exec|first=Todd|last=Spangler|website=Variety|date=21 January 2025|access-date=21 January 2025}} The site evolved from what was initially his personal film database which became an online bulletin board made from simple records, kept on a succession of early computers and contributed to by several people, all of whom Needham outlasted.{{IMDb name|1000000}}
By 1996, with the success of IMDb's first film-related advertising campaign (for Independence Day), Needham had quit HP to work on IMDb fully as a paid employee.{{cite web|url=http://www.laweekly.com/content/printVersion/38770|title=Do You IMDb?|work=L.A. Weekly|first=Nikki|last=Finke|date=5 August 2004|accessdate=19 October 2009}}{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/user/ur1000000|title=Col Needham's user profile – Internet Movie Database|publisher=IMDb|date=|accessdate=26 October 2014}} In 1998, IMDb was acquired by Amazon.{{cite news|url=https://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/may/12/six-degrees-col-needham-imdb |title=Six degrees of IMDb founder Col Needham This man has seen 8,524 movies. How does he know? Because he invented the Internet Movie Database – the indispensable cinema encyclopaedia – and put Bristol on Hollywood's map |first=Catherine |last=Shoard |newspaper=The Guardian |date=12 May 2013 |archivedate=14 May 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514020714/http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/may/12/six-degrees-col-needham-imdb |url-status=dead }} In 1999, Needham won two Webby Awards for IMDb.{{cite web|url=http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=3#webby_entry_movie|title=3rd Annual Webby Awards Nominees & Winners|publisher=Webby Awards|date=|accessdate=19 October 2009}}
In 2017, Needham removed message boards from IMDb, stating that they "are no longer providing a positive, useful experience for the vast majority of our more than 250 million monthly users worldwide".{{Cite news |last=Pulver |first=Andrew |date=2017-02-06 |title=IMDb shuts down its message boards |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/06/imdb-shuts-down-message-boards |access-date=2024-11-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} In 2025, he stepped down as the CEO of IMDb and handed over to Nikki Santoro, then shifted to the role of executive chairman.
Personal life
Needham married Karen Gaskin in 1989. They live in Filton with their twin daughters.{{cn|date=January 2025}}
Notes
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|1000000}}
- [https://www.thirteen.org/openmind/media/the-movie-database/4990 Col Needham] interview – The Open Mind, 21 February 2015
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{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Needham, Colin}}
Category:British Internet celebrities
Category:Businesspeople from Manchester
Category:Amazon (company) people
Category:People from Denton, Greater Manchester