Michael Homer

Michael J. Homer (February 24, 1958 – February 1, 2009) was an American electronics and computer industry executive who played major roles in the development of the personal computer, mobile devices and the Internet.

Life and career

Homer was born in San Francisco on February 24, 1958 and was awarded a bachelor's degree at the University of California, Berkeley.

He was hired by Apple Computer in 1982, where he served as the technology adviser to the firm's chief executive, John Sculley. He followed with a position as marketing vice president at GO Corp., an early pioneer in creating software for mobile computers and personal digital assistants that did early work in pen-based computing.

After Go closed in 1994, John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Go's main venture capital backer, made the connection for Homer at Marc Andreessen's Netscape Communications Corporation.

Homer died at age 50 on February 1, 2009 in Atherton, California. He was survived by his wife, three children, his mother and sister. The science center at Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton is named after him.