John Freund (business executive)
John Freund | |
---|---|
Alma mater | Harvard University |
Occupation(s) | Founder and CEO of Skyline Ventures |
Website | www |
John Freund is an American satirist and business executive.[1][2] Freund and collaborator David Porter created the 1981 satirical poster Bedtime for Brezhnev[3][4][5] and co-authored the 1982 satirical book The Official MBA Handbook or How to Succeed in Business Without a Harvard MBA,[1] which spent 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.[6][7] Freund is the co-founder of Intuitive Surgical,[8] and the co-founder and former CEO of Arixa Pharmaceuticals.[9] He founded Skyline Ventures in 1997.[2]
Early life and education
Freund grew up in
Career
Early career
In April 1981, while enrolled in Harvard Business School, Freund collaborated with classmate David Porter on a satirical poster for an imaginary movie called Bedtime for Brezhnev, featuring then-president Ronald Reagan.[3][11][5] The poster sold 275,000 copies,[14] and sales of Bedtime for Brezhnev earned them enough money to pay their second year tuition.[1][5] In the 2021 book Cowboy Presidents, it was reported that Reagan was rumored to have loved the poster.[14] In 1982, Freund and David Porter co-authored the book The Official MBA Handbook or How to Succeed in Business Without a Harvard MBA, which they published under the pen names Jim Fisk and Robert Barron, respectively.[1][15] The idea for the book first emerged when Freund and Porter approached the publisher Simon & Schuster to distribute Bedtime for Brezhnev, but the head of trade paperbacks instead suggested the pair write a satirical book about MBA's.[13][16] At the time of the book's release, both men were preparing to start jobs with investment banks.[1][11] The Official MBA Handbook or How to Succeed in Business Without a Harvard MBA spent 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.[6][7]
Medical startups
Freund began his business career as an investment banker in 1982 with Morgan Stanley.[6] In 1995, he co-founded the robotics startup Intuitive Surgical.[8][17] Freund negotiated a licensing agreement with SRI for surgical technology that formed the nucleus of Intuitive Surgical's line of products.[2]
Freund founded the venture capital firm Skyline Ventures in 1997
Personal life
In 1979, Freund married
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Ross, Nancy L. (12 September 1982). "Harvard Spoof Brings Degree of Success". Washington Post. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d Carlsen, Clifford (28 December 1997). "JMedical financier ready to operate after raising $23M". San Francisco Business Journal. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Poster Pranksters". Washington Post. No. 27 August 1981. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ "TWO CAPITALIST TOOLS TELL US HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING TO GET AN MBA". People. No. 20 December 1982.
- ^ a b c Heinzel, Ron S. (27 June 1982). "$5 Education May Supplant Harvard MBA". LA Times.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-78973-807-0.
- ^ a b Tumulty, Karen (6 December 1982). "MBA Spoof Nothing to Laugh At". LA Times.
- ^ a b Tindera, Michela (14 February 2019). "BILLIONAIRES DAILY COVER Robot Wars: $60B Intuitive Surgical Dominated Its Market For 20 Years. Now Rivals Like Alphabet Are Moving In". Forbes. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Vermes, Krystle (23 October 2020). "Could Arixa Pharmaceuticals' Lead Product Pave the Way for More Efficient Antibiotics?". BioSpace. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ "J.G. Freund Weds Linda Sexton". New York Times. 20 August 1979. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ a b c Gertson, Jill (11 July 1982). "Spoofing M.B.A. for big bucks". Providence Sunday Journal.
- ^ "Linda Sexton, John Freund Set Wedding". New York Times. 15 July 1979. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ a b Walters, Ray (20 June 1982). "PAPERBACK TALK; Wits of the 80's". New York Times. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8061-6848-7.
- ^ Herman, Tom (14 April 2013). "It's Easy to File for an Extension". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ Kelly, John F. (12 September 1982). "Spoofing M.B.A for big bucks". The Baltimore Sun.
- PMID 25484946.
- ^ Carroll, John (10 August 2011). "Skyline's Freund slams FDA's tougher stance on drug programs". Fierce Biotech. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ Young, Robin (11 February 2022). "HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET EXCLUSIVE REIMBURSEMENT STATUS?". Orthopedics This Week. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "SEC Schedule 14a". Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ a b Al Idrus, Amirah (22 October 2020). "Pfizer snaps up antibiotics maker Arixa and its oral Avycaz follow-up". Fierce Biotech. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ Satyanarayana, Megha (16 December 2018). "The hunt for new antibiotics grows harder as resistance builds". Chemical and Engineering News. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "SEC Schedule 14a". sec.gov. Retrieved 14 July 2023.