4ward Sciences President and CEO: Chris Brown

I give my dad and mom the credit for my entrepreneurial passion. With a high school diploma, Dad worked his way up in a large aircraft company from stock boy to a senior executive. He then went out on his own to found several very successful businesses, the last one with my mother running the business. I grew up observing a relentless work ethic, the willingness to take risks, and the excitement of success.

I received my mechanical engineering degree from Northwestern University at the end of the ‘60s. I’ve had excellent engineering and management positions working on all sorts of technologies. In the relatively early days of satellites, I was involved in operations and then software control systems design. I’ve worked in the fields of submarine communications, airport systems, combat systems, and computer networks for large national organizations. My understanding of productivity and collaborative work environments comes from a stint in software engineering research studying and applying automated development tools and work-flow management systems. I’ve led groups working for customers as varied as the Departments of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the US Geological Survey. I’ve spent time at enormous and midsized companies and at start-ups. All along the way, I have been a student of all types of corporate organizations and cultures.

I have been very fortunate in my life, living in beautiful towns on each coast of the US. I met my wife Robin in the early ‘70s. We had countless very good times growing up through exciting years. One job allowed us to live in a farmhouse looking out at the Alps across the green fields and forests of Bavaria. We traveled incessantly all over Europe and some in Africa and Asia. After four years, we came home to San Diego, bought a fixer-upper, and raised two kids, Jess and Rachel, both graduates of UC Berkeley, and both on paths to excellent careers.

We turned the fixer-upper into our dream home and we will probably be here forever. With my good friends working at 4ward Sciences, I hope we can build a very special company doing exciting business worldwide. Not too far in the future, I plan to pass on my responsibilities to some hungry, smarter entrepreneurs while staying active working part-time and traveling and puttering in the garden.

 

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