Editing Mike Markkula

{{Short description|American businessman (born 1942)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Mike Markkula
| image  =
| birth_name  = Armas Clifford Markkula Jr.<ref name=FTLegends>{{cite web |title=California Births, 1905–1995 |url=http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/39461?c=search&first=&last=Markkula |publisher=FamilyTreeLegends.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821081012/http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/39461?c=search&first=&last=Markkula |archive-date=August 21, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1942|2|11}}
| birth_place  = [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]], U.S.<ref name=FTLegends/>
| death_date  =
| death_place =
| alma_mater = [[University of Southern California]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]], [[Master of Science|MS]])
| known_for = [[CEO]] of [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer, Inc.]]
}}

'''Armas Clifford''' "'''Mike'''" '''Markkula Jr.''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ɑr|ˈ|k|uː|l|ə}}; born February 11, 1942)<ref name=FTLegends/> is an American electrical engineer, businessman and investor. He was the original [[angel investor]], first chairman, and second CEO for [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer, Inc.]], providing critical early funding and managerial support. At the company's incorporation, Markkula owned 26% of Apple, equivalent to each of the shares owned by cofounders [[Steve Jobs]] and [[Steve Wozniak]].<ref name="Berlin-233">{{Cite book |last=Berlin |first=Leslie |author-link=Leslie Berlin |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1008569018 |title=Troublemakers : Silicon Valley's Coming of Age |publisher=Simon & Schuster |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-4516-5150-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |oclc=1008569018 |page=233}}</ref>

==Early life==
Markkula's great-grandfather, Isak Ferdinand Markkula, was born in [[Sievi]], Finland. He and his wife moved to the United States in either 1865<ref name=Kaleva>{{cite web |url=http://www.kaleva.fi/uutiset/pohjois-suomi/applen-perustajan-sukujuuret-sievissa/23729/ |title=Applen perustajan sukujuuret Sievissä |first=Liisa |last=Lehto-Peippo |publisher=kaleva.fi |date=April 7, 2007 |language=fi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504230741/https://www.kaleva.fi/applen-perustajan-sukujuuret-sievissa/2295108 |archive-date=May 4, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> or 1883, depending on the source. Mike Markkula's first name ''Armas'' and last name ''Markkula'' are traditional Finnish names. His first name ''Armas'' means "dear" or "beloved" in the Finnish language.<ref>Kielitoimiston sanakirja (2012). Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen julkaisuja 166. Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten keskus ja Kielikone. Internetpalvelu. {{ISBN|978-952-5446-68-5}}. {{ISSN|2242-461X}}; ISSN-L 2242-461X.</ref>

Markkula earned bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from the [[University of Southern California]].<ref name=scu>{{cite web|title=A.C. "Mike" Markkula Jr.|url=http://www.scu.edu/ethics/about/people/advisory/markkula.html|publisher=Santa Clara University|access-date=February 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228115617/http://www.scu.edu/ethics/about/people/advisory/markkula.html |archive-date=December 28, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Career==
Markkula made millions from [[stock option]]s he earned as a marketing manager for [[Fairchild Semiconductor]] and [[Intel]], reaching [[financial independence]] and early retirement at 33.<ref name=markoff19970901>{{cite news|last=Markoff|first=John|title=An 'Unknown' Co-Founder Leaves After 20 Years of Glory and Turmoil|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/01/business/an-unknown-co-founder-leaves-after-20-years-of-glory-and-turmoil.html |access-date=February 4, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 1, 1997}}</ref> After that, he became a startup consultant and mentored dozens of entrepreneurs, working only every Monday.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Berlin |first=Leslie |author-link=Leslie Berlin |title=Troublemakers: Silicon Valley's Coming of Age |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-4516-5150-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |oclc=1008569018 |page=146-154}}</ref>

===Apple===
Markkula was introduced by [[Regis McKenna]] and venture capitalist [[Don Valentine]]{{r|markoff19970901}} to [[Steve Jobs]] and [[Steve Wozniak]] while they were looking for funding to manufacture the [[Apple II]] personal computer they had developed after having sold some units of their first computer, the [[Apple I]]. Jobs and Wozniak had previously gone to McKenna and then Valentine, but neither was originally interested in the Apple pair; after meeting with the young and unkempt Jobs, Valentine asked McKenna, ''"Why did you send me this renegade from the human race?"'' However, Valentine forwarded their information to Markkula,<ref name="time19820215">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,925280,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124090232/https://time.com/3462424/the-seeds-of-success/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 24, 2022|title=The Seeds of Success|access-date=February 23, 2011|date=February 15, 1982|magazine=Time}}</ref> who proved interested, and came out of retirement to personally work on the opportunity. 

With his guidance and funding, Apple ceased to be a partnership between Jobs and Wozniak, and was incorporated as a company on January 3, 1977. Markkula provided Apple with funding of $80,000 - $92,000 personally in addition to securing a $170,000 - $250,000 [[line of credit]] from [[Bank of America]].<ref name="Berlin-233"/>{{r|time19820215}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Livingston |first=Jessica |author-link=Jessica Livingston |title=Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days |date=2007 |publisher=Apress |isbn=978-1-4302-0327-8 |location=Berkeley, CA |oclc=191452063 |page=56}}</ref> He brought in his friend and former coworker [[Michael Scott (Apple)|Michael Scott]] as the first president and CEO, then replaced Scott with himself from 1981 to 1983 despite having originally promised his wife that he would only stay at Apple for four years,{{r|markoff19970901}} and then later planning to retire again by 1984;{{r|time19820215}} during the board meeting to confirm him as the CEO, Markkula received a phone call that his father-in-law and best friend had died.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Berlin |first=Leslie |author-link=Leslie Berlin |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1008569018 |title=Troublemakers: Silicon Valley's Coming of Age |publisher=Simon & Schuster |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-4516-5150-8 |edition=1st |location=New York |oclc=1008569018 |page=300}}</ref>

Markkula served as chairman from 1985 to 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mancini |first=Jeannine |title=Apple's Lesser-Known Co-Founder Owned ⅓ Of The Company But Missed Out On A Potential $900 Billion Fortune |url=https://www.benzinga.com/news/23/06/32693662/apples-lesser-known-co-founder-owned-of-the-company-but-missed-out-on-a-potential-900-billion-fortun |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=Benzinga |language=English}}</ref><ref name=ctribune1993>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-10-15-9310160132-story.html|title=Apple's John Sculley Resigns Chairmanship for 'New Challenges'|website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=October 15, 1993 }}</ref> As chairman he approved [[Jef Raskin]]'s 1979 plan to start designing what would become the [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]], then prevented Jobs from killing the project in favor of his own [[Apple Lisa|Lisa]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Markoff |first=John |date=September 1, 1997 |title=An 'Unknown' Co-Founder Leaves After 20 Years of Glory and Turmoil |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/01/business/an-unknown-co-founder-leaves-after-20-years-of-glory-and-turmoil.html |url-access=limited |access-date=21 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=And_Another_Thing....txt|title=And Another Thing...|author=Andy Hertzfeld|publisher=Folklore.org |date=March 1982 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927120311/http://folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=And_Another_Thing....txt|archive-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref> In 1985, Markkula took [[John Sculley]]'s side in a dispute with Jobs, causing the latter to leave the company; he would later help to force Sculley out in 1993.{{r|markoff19970901}}

In addition to providing what ''[[The New York Times]]'' later described as "adult supervision" to the younger Jobs and Wozniak, as a trained engineer Markkula also possessed technical skills.{{r|markoff19970901}} [[Michael Tomczyk]] recalled being surprised by the technical sophistication of a software question Markkula asked Wozniak.<ref name="santens20211019">{{Cite interview |last=Tomczyk |first=Michael |interviewer=Tim Santens |title=Michael Tomczyk: Commodore VIC-20 Developer, Computer Pioneer |url=https://talesfromthecollection.com/2021/10/19/michael-tomczyk-commodore/ |date=October 19, 2021}}</ref> He wrote several early Apple II programs, served as a [[beta tester]] for Apple hardware and software, and wrote one of the first three programs available for the unsuccessful [[Apple III]]. Wozniak was motivated to design the [[Disk II]] floppy disk drive system after Markkula found that a checkbook-balancing program he had written loaded too slowly from a [[Cassette tape#data|data cassette]].{{r|markoff19970901}}<ref name="coventry20131006">{{cite web|url=http://lowendmac.com/2013/apple-iii-chaos-apples-first-failure|title=Apple III Chaos: Apple's First Failure|publisher=Low End Mac|date=October 6, 2013|access-date=July 1, 2014|author=Coventry, Joshua}}</ref> Markkula retired from Apple after Jobs returned as interim CEO in 1996. He supported Jobs' 1997 return and agreed to step down from Apple's board.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Isaacson |first=Walter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8U2oAAAAQBAJ |title=Steve Jobs |date=2011 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4516-4854-6 |language=en}}</ref>

Wozniak, who designed the first two Apple computers, credits Markkula for the success of Apple more than himself.<ref>Jason Zasky, [http://failuremag.com/article/steve-wozniak-interview "The Failure Interview: Apple Computer Co-Founder Steve Wozniak"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215110532/http://failuremag.com/article/steve-wozniak-interview|date=December 15, 2013}}, ''Failure Magazine'', July 2000.</ref> 

[[Jeffrey Nordling]] portrayed him in the 1999 TNT film ''[[Pirates of Silicon Valley]]''. [[Dermot Mulroney]] later portrayed him in the 2013 film ''[[Jobs (film)|Jobs]]''.

=== Post Apple ===
After he retired from Apple, he went on to work at [[Echelon Corporation]], ACM Aviation, San Jose Jet Center and Rana Creek Habitat Restoration and to endow the [[Markkula Center for Applied Ethics]] at [[Santa Clara University]], where he chaired the board. Markkula was also on the board of trustees of Santa Clara University from 2003 to 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scu.edu/ethics/about-the-center/people/advisory-board/ac-mike-markkula-jr.html|title=A.C. 'Mike' Markkula Jr.|publisher=Markula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University|access-date=June 29, 2020}}</ref>

Markkula was an investor in Crowd Technologies, a startup developing a web application called Piqqem that applies the [[wisdom of crowds]] to stock market predictions. He is an investor in Scotland-based [[LiveCode (company)|LiveCode]] Ltd.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranscombe |first=Peter |date=April 10, 2013 |title=LiveCode goes open source as RunRev raises £500,000 |url=https://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/tech/livecode-goes-open-source-as-runrev-raises-500-000-1-2885696 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122034338/https://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/tech/livecode-goes-open-source-as-runrev-raises-500-000-1-2885696 |archive-date=January 22, 2020 |access-date=January 21, 2020 |website=The Scotsman |language=en}}</ref>

Markkula owned the [[Rana Creek Ranch]] from 1982 to 2023. In July 2023, he sold his 14,000-acre Rana Creek Ranch in Carmel Valley ([[Monterey County, California|Monterey County]]) to [[The Wildlands Conservancy]] for $35 million.<ref>[https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/former-apple-ceo-sells-central-coast-ranch-18163597.php Former Apple CEO sells Central Coast ranch to conservation group]sfgate.com 21. Juni 2023</ref><ref>[https://wildlandsconservancy.org/ranacreek RANA CREEK RANCH ACQUISITION]Homepage The Wildlands Conservancy</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Jeffrey Young, ''The Journey Is the Reward'', 1987 (Jeffrey Young's biography covering Steve Jobs' life until shortly after he founded [[NeXT]] computer company)

==External links==
* Edwards, Jim (December 26, 2013). "[http://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-of-apples-first-employees-2013-12 These Pictures Of Apple's First Employees Are Absolutely Wonderful]". ''[[Business Insider]]''.
* [https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102746383 Markkula, Mike (Armas Clifford, Jr.) oral history]

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{{succession box |before=[[Steve Jobs]] | title=[[Apple Inc.|Apple Chairman]] | years=1985–1993 |after=[[John Sculley]]}}
{{succession box |before=[[John Sculley]] | title=[[Apple Inc.|Apple Chairman]] | years=1993–1997 |after=[[Steve Jobs]]}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Markkula, Mike}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American people of Finnish descent]]
[[Category:American technology chief executives]]
[[Category:Apple Inc. executives]]
[[Category:Directors of Apple Inc.]]
[[Category:Intel people]]
[[Category:USC Viterbi School of Engineering alumni]]