Col Needham: IMDb Founder and CEO
Col Needham is the founder and CEO of The Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com). Born and living in the UK, Col has had a lifelong interest in both technology and movies. After starting a computer games software business at the age of 14, he went on to complete a computer science degree at Leeds University before commencing a career in technology research in Bristol, England. IMDb grew out of a personal database of movie information which Col created as a teenager, combined with similar data collected on the Internet in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Col published the first version of IMDb online in October 1990 and co-ordinated IMDb as a worldwide volunteer effort from 1990-1996. IMDb incorporated in January 1996 with the volunteers as shareholders and IMDb became a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com in April 1998. Col continues in his original role to this day, working from an office in Bristol with IMDb staff members in countries around the world.
News Articles
- Mashable: IMDb’s Mobile App Hits 100 Million Downloads Milestone On The Eve Of Upgrade
- The Financial Times: Col Needham: 'Everything About Me Is Movies'
- Beyond Cinema: Col Needham - Icon Mentor Deity of Bristol: Founder of IMDb
- The UK Guardian: Six Degrees of IMDb Founder Col Needham
- LA Times: Col Needham Created IMDb
- Geek Magazine: The Movie Fan's Movie Fan
- American Way Magazine: The Man Behind the Data
- The Hollywood Reporter: 2012 Digital Power 50 List
- The Sun: No 1 Film Website Is Run by Brit
- The Daily Mail: How The World's Biggest Movie Website Is Run By a 'Self Confessed Geek'
- The Bristol Evening Post: Bristol Father of Two Is Hollywood Movie Website Entrepreneur
- The LA Times: An Interview with IMDb Founder Col Needham
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The UK Guardian: The 2012 Guardian Film Power 100 List
[Note: Col Needham’s profile is five rows down, second from the left.] - Total Film: The Story of IMDb
- The New York Times: How British Film Enthusiast Became Digital Media Baron
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