Bob Parsons

Country:	USA
Email:	president [at] godaddy.com
Website:	bobparsons.me
Twitter:	@DRBOBPARSONS

Bob Parsons is the Founder and CEO of GoDaddy Group Inc, an ICANN accredited domain name registrar based in Arizona. He owns 78% share of the company and he is considered one of the wealthiest men in the United States with a reported net worth of $1.5 billion dollars and ranked 293rd in the 2011 Forbes 400 Rich List. Parsons s also described by his colleagues in the domain name industry as a risk taker by hiring Candice Michelle, a porn star to become Go Daddy's endorser in its first Superbowl commercial in 2005. The company became more popular and Parsons was recognized as a marketing genius.

In 2011, Parsons entered a partnership agreement with technology investment firms KKR, Silver Lake and Technology Crossover Ventures 65% of the company's share for $2.25 billion to $2.5 billion. Parsons explained that under the agreement he will serve as Executive Chairman and remains the largest single shared holder in the company. In addition, 36 employees will receive $1 million plus checks. As Executive Chairman, Bob will concentrate on Go Daddy's marketing and commercials.

In the company's press release, Parson's was quoted, "People have asked me, with all the success Go Daddy is having, why bring in partners now? My response is simple. This is the right group of people at just the right time.These three firms have what it takes to help lift Go Daddy to the next level. KKR, Silver Lake and TCV each have a keen sense for technology and a proven savvy with international business affairs. We know our new partners can help Go Daddy expand in ways that make sense for both our customers and our company. That's why I have insisted on continuing as Go Daddy's single largest shareholder."

Bob has a weekly satellite radio talk show, "Life Online" and maintains a personal blog.

Career History

After earning his Degree in Accounting, Bob joined a direct mail company. His entry in the technology industry was accidental and happened after he was sent by his company to San Francisco bay area for an accounting job. He strolled in a bookstore at Stanford University to pass time and bought a book on BASIC programming, after reading the book he began experimenting with a computer. He developed a tax/finance program. In 1984, he established Parsons Technology and started selling the software. The company had 1,000 employees when he sold it to Intuit in 1994 for $64 million and moved to Arizona. In 1997, Bob founded Jomax Technologies. He renamed the company GoDaddy in 1999 and became an ICANN Accredited Registrar in 2000.

Awards

• Combat Action Ribbon, serving as a Combat Rifleman in the Vietnam war
• "Ed Denison Business Leader of the Year" award, 2005
• Arizona Business Leader, 2007
• Honorary Doctorate from the University of Baltimore and named it distinguished entrepreneur, 2010

Education

• He holds a Bachelor degree in Accounting from the University of Baltimore.
• He has a CPA degree, which he earned from the same University.

Personal Life

Bob was born into a low-class family in Baltimore, Maryland. He has noted that he has always earned whatever money he has, and has worked since he was a young man, selling newspapers, pumping gas, and working in factories.

Bob has a taste for motorcycles and has travelled more than 85,000 miles on his bikes.

Bob Parsons 16 Rules for Success

Bob believes that a person will be successful in business and in life by following his 16 rules:

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone.
2. Never give up.
3. When you're ready to quit, you're closer than you think.
4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be.
5. Focus on what you want to happen.
6. Take things a day at a time.
7. Always be moving forward.
8. Be quick to decide.
9. Measure everything of significance.
10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.
11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you're doing.
12. Never let anybody push you around.
13. Never expect life to be fair.
14. Solve your own problems.
15. Don't take yourself too seriously.
16. There's always a reason to smile.

ICANN Involvement

In 2003, Bob wrote to Dan Halloran, ICANN Chief Registrar Liaison that he supports Dotster's objection to Verisign's proposed Wait Listing Service (WLS). According to him, WLS negatively impacts the registrar market by providing Verisign the leverage to monopolize the retail domain name market, and further damages and replaces existing back order mechanisms implemented by registrars. He also encouraged ICANN to reconsider its approval of the WLS, weigh its potential harm and respect a majority consensus within the registrar community.

In 2004, Bob supported ICANN's decision to evaluate and regulate Verisign's position as an "exclusive registry." He criticized Verisign's monopolistic business strategy and pledged $100,000 to help ICANN to defend the lawsuit filed by the Verisign.

In 2005, Bob wrote to ICANN CEO and President, Paul Twomey, regarding the .net registry operation. He stated that moving the operations of the .net registry to another provider would not benefit registrars. He stressed that Verisign has proven its capability in maintaining the .net registry in a consistent and stable manner.

In 2006, he was disappointed with ICANN's approval of Verisign's .com Registry Agreement, which granted the company the authority to implement a seven percent price increase every year without any cost justification for the next four years, and granted Verisign the power to extend its .com registry contract indefinitely under the "presumptive renewal" provision of the agreement. Bob said, "The fact that this monopolistic deal was approved is a loud signal that major changes are needed at ICANN."