Eckart Wintzen
{{Short description|Dutch entrepreneur, venture capitalist, environmentalist, and media arts enthusiast}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Eckart Wintzen
| image = File:Sebastiaan ter Burg en Eckart Wintzen - Picnic 2007.jpg
| caption = Eckart Wintzen (right) in 2007
| birth_name =
| death_date = {{death date and age |2008|03|21 |1939|04|19 |mf=yes}}
| death_place = France
| citizenship = Netherlands
| occupation = {{hlist|Entrepreneur|venture capitalist}}
| years_active =
| known_for = BSO/Origin, Ex'tent, Ex'pression College
| title =
| employer =
| organization =
| alma_mater = Leiden University
| website = {{cite web |title=Ex'tent |url=http://www.extent.nl/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913060416/http://www.extent.nl/ |archive-date=13 September 2017 |url-status=dead}}
}}
Eckart Wintzen (April 19, 1939 – March 21, 2008) was a Dutch entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and environmentalist. He was known for founding software company BSO/Origin,{{cite web |title=Origin's Original |last1=Van Bakel |first1=Rogier |url=https://www.wired.com/1996/11/es-wintzen/ |website=Wired |access-date=3 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123200430/https://www.wired.com/1996/11/es-wintzen/ |archive-date=23 January 2023 |date=1 November 1996}} co-founding Ex'pression College,{{cite news |last1=Levy |first1=Dan |title=Dutch entrepreneur tunes into the futurGenius for self-expression / A Dutchman wrote the check, and he gets to pontificate at a hatchery for new-media arts in Emeryville |url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Dutch-entrepreneur-tunes-into-the-futurGenius-for-2815169.php |access-date=2 April 2023 |work=SFGATE |date=2 June 2002}} and contributing to the success of Ben & Jerry's Benelux, Wired, and Greenwheels.
In his own words, he wanted to "put technology at the service of inter-human warmth."{{cite web |title=McLuhan Program: Eckart Wintzen |url=https://www.utoronto.ca/mcluhan/eckartwintzen.htm |website=University of Toronto |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024014943/https://www.utoronto.ca/mcluhan/eckartwintzen.htm |archive-date=24 October 2008 |url-status=dead}}
He died of heart failure in 2008,{{cite web |last1=Dylan |first1=Tweney |title=Maverick IT Entrepreneur Eckart Wintzen Dies |url=https://www.wired.com/2008/03/maveric-it-entr/ |website=Wired |access-date=3 April 2023 |date=28 March 2008}} while on vacation in France.{{cite journal |title=Ex’pression College Mourns Passing of Founder Eckart Wintzen |journal=Mix |date=27 March 2008 |url=https://www.mixonline.com/technology/ex-pression-college-mourns-passing-founder-eckart-wintzen-383194 |access-date=3 April 2023}}
Early life and education
Wintzen was born in a fishing village in Holland, and later studied math and physics at Leiden University.
In the early 1960s, he served a mandatory stint in the Dutch army, where he first developed an interest in computers.
Business career
=BSO/Origin=
In 1976, Wintzen founded the software company BSO, which was later renamed Origin. In 1995, the privately held company had 6,500 employees and 100 offices in 24 countries, with global revenues above $500 million. The firm's clients included Volvo, Texaco, Eastman Kodak, Procter & Gamble, and Motorola. In 1996, the company merged with Philips Communications and Processing Services, and ready to move on to other ventures, Wintzen chose not to stay onboard after the merger.
=Ex'tent=
After retiring from Origin in 1996, Wintzen decided to put the profits to good use. He founded green venture capital firm Ex'tent,{{cite web |title=This is Ex'tent |url=http://www.extent.nl/ |access-date=3 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913060416/http://www.extent.nl/ |website=extent.nl |archive-date=13 September 2017 |url-status=dead}} which offered management and financial support to small companies with philanthropic missions.
=Ex'pression College=
In 1999, Wintzen co-founded Ex'pression College, a private for-profit college for digital arts, in Emeryville, California. Initially, the school was funded exclusively by Wintzen, who invested roughly $20 million into the project.{{cite news |last1=Tanaka |first1=Wendy |title=Ex'pression Center for New Media, A new school in Emeryville, wants to create career-ready professionals with a fast-paced program |url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Ex-pression-Center-for-New-Media-A-new-school-in-3103596.php |access-date=2 April 2023 |work=SFGATE |date=4 January 1999}} Wintzen said his support of the school was part of a plan to participate in the "immaterial economy." Along with the management team, Wintzen actively participated in the development of the long-term vision and goals for the school.
=Advising=
Eckart advised many entrepreneurs, and served on the boards of commercial and non-profit organizations including the Dianne Fossey Gorilla Fund and the Carbon Disclosure Project.{{cite web |title=Eckart Wintzen (1939 - 2008) |url=http://www.extent.nl/about-eckart/ |website=extent.nl |access-date=3 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011142648/http://www.extent.nl/about-eckart/ |archive-date=11 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}
References
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Category:Dutch company founders
Category:Technology company founders