Bruce Davis
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Bruce Davis has been Chief Executive Officer of Digimarc since 1997 and Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2002. Mr. Davis has spent more than 25 years establishing and managing new businesses to foster development of major new technology markets and drive early adoption of novel digital technologies ranging from video games and computer entertainment, to electronic TV program guides, and, most recently, digital watermarking and secure identity management systems. Through these experiences, he has developed a keen understanding of the possibilities and pitfalls associated with fostering the diffusion of innovative technologies into emerging markets.
At the start of his career, he established the intellectual property practice at Orrick Herrington and Sutcliffe, a major international law firm. He later played an important role in the development of the video game industry as Chairman and CEO of Activision, now the largest video game company in the world; and for five years he served as a member of the Software Publishers Association board of directors, which evolved into the Software & Information Industry Association, the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. From there he founded TV Guide On Screen, a joint venture of TCI, then the leading cable television operator, and News Corporation; where his team developed the leading electronic program guide for cable television. TV Guide On Screen is now a part of Macrovision.
A prolific inventor, Mr. Davis has been awarded more than 50 patents on television user interface improvements and other innovations in media management and security. In 2003, Mr. Davis was named Pacific Northwest Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® for the technology category.
He has a law degree from Columbia University, and a B.S. in accounting and psychology and an M.A. in criminal justice from the State University of New York at Albany.
Michael McConnell
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
Michael E. McConnell has served as our Chief Financial Officer and treasurer since June 2004. Prior to joining Digimarc, from January 2001 until June 2004, Mr. McConnell was senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer at WatchGuard Technologies, a public internet security company. He also held other various senior management positions during his tenure at WatchGuard, including chief financial officer and treasurer from October 2000 to June 2004 and vice president of finance from May 1999 to October 2000. From 1979 to May 1999, he served as chief financial officer of several technology companies, both public and private. Mr. McConnell served at Deloitte & Touche, an international auditing and accounting firm from 1973 to 1979. Mr. McConnell is a CPA and holds a B.A. from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Robert P. Chamness
Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
Robert Chamness has served as our Vice President and General Counsel since January 2002, was elected Secretary in February 2002, was elected Vice President of Human Resources in October 2002, and was elected Chief Legal Officer in May 2003. Prior to joining Digimarc, from 1995 to 2000, Mr. Chamness was president, chief operating officer and a director of Concentrex Incorporated (previously CFI ProServices, Inc.), a publicly-traded Portland, Oregon based software and services company, where he also served as executive vice president, general counsel, and a director from 1993 to 1995. While at Concentrex, Mr. Chamness was responsible for managing and integrating the operations at 12 locations nationwide, leading the acquisition and integration of more than a dozen companies, and building the executive team. Concentrex was acquired by the John Harland Company in August 2000, and after completing transition responsibilities in December 2000, Mr. Chamness retired. Prior to that, Mr. Chamness practiced law in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Indianapolis from 1978 to 1993.
A nationally recognized expert in financial services, Mr. Chamness chaired the Consumer Financial Services Committee of the American Bar Association's Business Law Section, served as president of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, and received the American Bankers Association Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Chamness holds an A.B. cum laude from Wabash College and a J.D. summa cum laude from the Indiana University School of Law.
Ed Knudson
Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing
Before joining Digimarc, Ed most recently was President and CEO of DigiForge, LLC, a professional engineering firm providing design, development, integration, and testing services to the digital television industry. Ed joined DigiForge in February 2009 and grew the company to 45 employees. DigiForge’s assets were acquired by Rovi Corporation in June 2011.
Prior to DigiForge, Ed was vice president of sales and marketing for WildBlue Communications, a broadband satellite service provider in Denver, Colorado. During his tenure, Ed helped grow the company's customer base by 60% to over 380,000 subscribers.
He spent three years at OpenTV where he was SVP and general manager of the company's Advanced Advertising business. In that position, Ed oversaw product strategy, product development, customer support and market development for the company's advanced advertising offerings.
Prior to OpenTV, Ed was EVP and co-founder of Intellocity, a professional services firm focused on the design, development, and integration of digital television platforms, infrastructure, and content. Ed and his partners successfully sold the company to ACTV, Inc. who was later acquired by OpenTV.
Before forming Intellocity, Ed was with TV Guide, where, as vice president and general manager of TV Guide Interactive, he led the design, development and launch of the first interactive program guide for digital cable television. He is a named inventor in 31 U.S. patents in the field of interactive television. Prior to joining TV Guide, Ed was the vice president and co-founder of MindWorks Corporation, a developer of document management software.
Ed spent the first 10 years of his career with Hewlett-Packard in various product management and marketing positions in HP's desktop scanner division.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the University of Northern Colorado and a MBA from the University of Denver.