Henry C. Yuen '80
Founder, Gemstar International Group Limited
Henry Yuen is a lawyer, mathematician, inventor and entrepreneur who has more than 70 scientific publications and 18 issued patents to his credit. He is the founder of Gemstar, a billion-dollar public company specializing in the development and licensing of proprietary technology for consumer electronics.
Ten years ago, Yuen tried to tape a Boston Red Sox game. In spite of a Ph.D. in mathematics from Caltech and a J.D. from Loyola Law School, Yuen, like most people, couldn't program his VCR. Unlike most people, Yuen invented a solution, the VCR Plus+, a system which makes programming a VCR as easy as dialing a telephone.
Yuen is determined to make television viewing even easier. Five years ago, Gemstar created the on-screen Interactive Program Guide (IPG). Gemstar's IPG technology has been licensed to DSS receivers, advanced analog and digital cable boxes, televisions and VCRs, and will be incorporated into every copy of Microsoft Windows 98. Gemstar licensees include JVC, Mitsubishi, Magnavox, RCA, Sony and other major companies in the consumer electronics, cable satellite, telecommunications and personal computer sectors.
In 1995, Yuen took Gemstar public. Gemstar now has over $140 million in cash, no debt, and a market capitalization of over $1 billion, after posting $27 million profit on $70 million revenues last year. In 1996, Yuen was elected the "National Entrepreneur of the Year" by the Entrepreneur of the Year Institute, sponsored by Ernst & Young, Nasdaq, USA Today and the Kaufman Foundation.