Charles (CJ) Prober, a University of Manitoba commerce grad and son of prominent Winnipeg defence lawyer Jay Prober, has been named CEO of Netgear Inc., a US$800-million per year Silicon Valley hardware technology company.
After graduating from the U of M, he went to McGill University law school in Montreal, because, Prober said Friday, he figured it would make it easier for him to work in the U.S.
“I always knew I wanted to move to California.”
Prober, 52, has had a long career with increasingly senior positions with tech firms in the San Francisco Bay area.
His engagements have included stints with prestigious consulting firm McKinsey & Company, chief operating officer of GoPro and executive chairman (later CEO) of Tile, which sold for more than US$200 million in 2021.
Prober was vice-president of digital publishing for Electronic Arts a decade ago, transitioning the video game giant from a packaged product company into an online operation.
In conversation Friday, Prober was quick to point out his wife, Lori Kopansky, who he met at the U of M, also had a successful career in finance, rising to vice-president and corporate controller of The Gap Inc.
“This is my passion,” Prober said in an interview with the Free Press.
“Bringing devices and software together and monetizing recurring revenue — that’s my sweet spot.”
Among the hundreds of products Netgear makes are consumer modems that are widely available in Canada. The company has a Canadian division based in Richmond, B.C.
Prober takes over from retiring founder of the company, Patrick C.S. Lo.
Martin Cash
Reporter
Martin Cash has been writing a column and business news at the Free Press since 1989. Over those years he’s written through a number of business cycles and the rise and fall (and rise) in fortunes of many local businesses.
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