Blake G. Krikorian | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 18, 1967[1] Santa Clara County, California, U.S. |
| Died | August 3, 2016 (aged 48) Pacifica, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of California at Los Angeles |
| Known for | Slingbox co-founder |
| Board member of | Andreessen Horowitz Amazon.com Microsoft FreeWheel |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Adam Krikorian (brother) |
Blake G. Krikorian (August 18, 1967 – August 3, 2016) was an American technology executive and entrepreneur, co-founder of Sling Media.
Krikorian was born into an Armenian-American family, the eldest son of Gary Krikorian and Joyce (née Srabian). Krikorian graduated from Mountain View High School in Mountain View, California, and in 1989 earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.[2][3] In high school he was an all-league water polo player and swimmer and was chosen for the Junior National Team in water polo in 1985; he played water polo for the UCLA Bruins from 1986 to 1989.[2]
Krikorian worked first at General Magic, then in 1994 was a co-founder of Philips Mobile Computing Group, where he was Group Product Manager. He then became Senior Vice President at Metis Associates and led its incubation of Mainbrace Corporation.[3]
In 2004 he co-founded Sling Media, a consumer electronics company that builds the Slingbox, with his brother Jason Krikorian.[4][5][6] He served as its CEO. It was purchased in 2007 by Echostar Communications for $380 million;[7][8] Krikorian remained CEO and a company director until 2009. In January that year he became CEO of id8 Group Productions, where he founded id8 Group R2 Studios in 2011;[3][4] after that company's acquisition by Microsoft, he became head of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business division.[3][7]
Krikorian served on the boards of a number of companies, including Amazon.com in 2011–2012.[3][7] He was also a board partner at the venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz[6] and was an angel investor in companies including Clicker.com, FreeWheel,[7] Jaunt,[5] Doppler Labs, and Thync.[6]
Krikorian's brother Adam coached the US women's water polo team to gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Olympics.[6] He was married and had two daughters. He died of a heart attack on August 3, 2016, at the age of 48, after paddleboarding in Pacifica, California.[7][5]