Raymond John Noorda, co-founder and former chief executive officer of Novell Inc., was known within the computer industry as the "Father of Network Computing" and has been credited with launching Utah's "technology sector."
Mr. Noorda, 82, died Monday, Oct. 9, 2006, at his home in Orem after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. The location and date of funeral services are pending.
"Ray was a great man," said Ron Heinz, managing director of Canopy Ventures, the venture capital company Mr. Noorda founded in 1995.
In 10 years, Canopy has invested in more than 100 companies, mostly in Utah. Last month, the firm made a $3.9 million second-round preferred stock investment in Lindon-based Solera Networks.
"He was always trying to create something bigger than himself," Heinz said. He added that Mr. Noorda would ask himself, "What can I do to ensure Utah thrives, so people can stay here after they graduate from college?"
Mr. Noorda was born in Ogden on June 19, 1924, the third son of Dutch immigrants, according to his obituary.
Throughout his childhood Mr. Noorda held several jobs, which included working in a candy shop, bowling alley and a train station; picking cherries; selling magazines and herding sheep. After graduating from Ogden High School, he attended what was then called Weber State College. During World War II, Mr. Noorda served in the Navy as an electronics technician. After the war, Mr. Noorda graduated cum laude in 1949 from the University of Utah with a bachelor's degree in engineering.
After college, Mr. Noorda worked for General Electric for 21 years, during which time he led "start-ups" within the company, his obituary states.
Mr. Noorda was president and CEO of Novell starting in 1983, when there were fewer than 20 employees who worked out of a truck garage in Utah County. Mr. Noorda was CEO until 1995, when more than 12,000 people worked for the computer industry giant.
"Ray was one of the first to realize that networking computers inherently implied openness — all computers connected and working together," said Novell co-founder Drew Major, who is quoted on the Web site www.canopy.com.
In the early days of Novell, Mr. Noorda was known for checking in on employees, asking them how they were doing and what they were working on. There were monthly "Ray meetings" when he would talk with staffers about Novell's growth.
"It was very personal," said Heinz, who worked for Novell under Mr. Noorda. "He used to give hugs to people on their birthdays."
Mr. Noorda nurtured relationships with Novell employees, which Heinz said created a "culture of trust and integrity."
A 1993 article in Fortune magazine described Mr. Noorda as an "easygoing" chief executive with a "casual style" like the late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. The article stated that Mr. Noorda had become a billionaire off of Novell's stock.
After retiring from Novell in 1995, Mr. Noorda founded the Lindon-based Canopy Group (now Canopy Ventures), which invests in start-up companies.
Last year the firm was the focus of a dueling lawsuits with three of its former executives who filed a suit alleging they were illegally terminated in December 2004. Canopy lodged a countersuit, saying the fired employees tried to take $25 million from the company while taking advantage of Mr. Noorda's failing health. In a settlement in March 2005, the three former executives received an undisclosed amount of money.
At the time of the lawsuits, Canopy was reported to be worth $300 million.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is also quoted on Canopy's Web site, calling Mr. Noorda one of the "innovators of the Utah Miracle."
Mr. Noorda is survived by his wife of 56 years, Tye Noorda. Together they had one daughter, who preceded Mr. Noorda in death, and four sons.
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com