Occupation Business executive Title CEO Employer QAD Inc | Years active 1981– | |
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Education University of California, Santa Barbara | ||
Karl F. Lopker is a business executive who is the current CEO of QAD Inc and is a co-founder of Deckers Outdoor Corporation.
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Early life and education
Lopker attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1973.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation
While a senior at UCSB, Lopker with fellow UCSB student Doug Otto created Deckers Outdoor Corporation in 1973. Lopker oversaw manufacturing of the production while Otto was responsible for sales and distribution. Despite a growing company, Lopker decided he wanted to work in software and was bought out by Otto in 1982. He joined QAD Inc as CEO, a company his wife, Pamela Lopker, founded.
QAD Inc
Despite working at Deckers at the time, Lopker urged then-girlfriend Pamela to start QAD Inc. The Lopkers made the decision to write one of their software programs to be able to run on multiple computers, launching their program, MFG/PRO, and the company to international success. MFG/PRO was also the first manufacturing software program to use UNIX. Lopker also made the decision to recruit PeopleSoft employees after their Oracle acquisition and subsequent layoffs.
UC Santa Barbara affiliation
In addition to attending college at UCSB, Lopker and his wife were both honored by the UC Santa Barbara Alumni Association's "Distinguished Alumni Award" in 1998. The Lopkers made a major donation to the university which resulted in the first endowed chair in computer science at the College of Engineering.