Introduction
Arthur Rock (born August 19, 1926) is an American businessman and investor. Based in Silicon Valley, California, he was an early investor in major firms including Intel, Apple Computer, Scientific Data Systems and Teledyne.
Early life
Rock was born and raised in Rochester, New York, in a Jewish family. He was an only child and his father owned a small candy store where Rock worked as a youth. He joined the U.S. Army during World War II but the war ended before he was deployed. He then went to college on the G.I. Bill. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in business administration from Syracuse University in 1948 and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1951.
Career
Rock started his career in 1951 as a securities analyst in New York City, and then joined the corporate finance department of Hayden, Stone & Company in New York, where he focused on raising money for small high-technology companies. In 1957, when the "traitorous eight" left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, Rock was the one who helped them find a place to go: he convinced Sherman Fairchild to start Fairchild Semiconductor.
In 1961, he moved to California. Along with Thomas J. Davis, Jr., he formed the San Francisco venture capital firm Davis & Rock.
In 2003, Rock donated $25 million to the Harvard Business School to establish the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship.
Awards
- 1987 EY Entrepreneur of The Year Award Recipient, Northern California Region.
Personal life
He is married to lawyer Toni Rembe.
Rock was portrayed by Oscar-winning actor J. K. Simmons in the 2013 biographical drama Jobs (film).