Pavel Baudiš
{{Short description|Czech software engineer and entrepreneur}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Pavel Baudiš
| image = Detail of Pavel Baudiš.jpg
| caption = Baudiš in 2016
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1960|05|15|df=yes}}
| birth_place =
| education = Prague University of Chemical Technology
| occupation = Businessman
| title =
| known_for = Co-founder of Avast
| spouse =
| children = 2
}}
Pavel Baudiš (born 15 May 1960) is a Czech software engineer, entrepreneur and the co-founder of Avast along with Eduard Kučera. He became the largest Gen Digital individual or non-institutional shareholder.{{Cite web |title=Gen Digital Stock Ownership - Who Owns Gen Digital in 2025? {{!}} WallStreetZen |url=https://www.wallstreetzen.com/stocks/us/nasdaq/gen/ownership |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=www.wallstreetzen.com}}{{Cite web |date=2025-04-02 |title=Pavel Baudis - Czech Billionaires 2023 |url=https://forbes.cz/lists/czech-billionaires-2023/pavel-baudis/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Forbes |language=cs}}{{Cite web |last=Jahanpour |first=Arshiya |date=2024-12-08 |title=Richest People in the Czech Republic: Wealth Rankings and Influential Figures |url=https://praguebusinessjournal.com/richest-people-in-the-czech-republic/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Prague Business Journal |language=en-US}} As of 2024, he is the 8th wealthiest person in the Czech Republic, with a net worth of more than $2.3 billion according to Forbes.{{Cite web |title=Pavel Baudis profile |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/pavel-baudis |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=Forbes |language=en}}
Biography
Born in Prague, he graduated in Information Technology from the Prague University of Chemical Technology. He then worked as a Graphics Specialist at the Mathematical Research Institute.In Czech: [http://vyznamneosobnosti.cz/pavel-baudis/ Pavel Baudiš (profile)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827214038/http://vyznamneosobnosti.cz/pavel-baudis/ |date=2016-08-27 }}, Významné osobnosti. Accessed December 9, 2017
He entered business began with his friend Eduard Kučera at the end of the communist regime in 1989, when he founded Alwil. In the early 1990s, the company was renamed Avast Software, based on its best known product, Avast Antivirus. It soon faced intense competition, especially from Symantec, which used an aggressive pricing policy in a bid to lead the market. In response, Baudiš and Kucera took a radical defense strategy, offering its product for free. As a result, Avast ultimately emerged as the largest anti-virus firm in the world.{{Cite web |website=Euro.Cz|url=https://www.euro.cz/byznys/muzete-delat-chyby-ale-nesmite-je-opakovat-962494|title=Můžete dělat chyby, ale nesmíte je opakovat|access-date=December 9, 2017|language=cs}}
In 2018, Avast was the largest tech IPO on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of $3.4 billion.{{Cite web |last=Brewster |first=Thomas |title=The Czech Cyber Billionaire Who Built A Fortune On Free Software |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2019/07/12/the-czech-cyber-billionaire-who-built-a-fortune-on-free-software/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=Forbes |language=en}}
References
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Category:Czech company founders
Category:Czech business executives