Michael Cowpland , PhD/73 / MEng/68

Michael Cowpland is a world leader and entrepreneur in hardware and software development. An electrical engineering student at Carleton, Cowpland began his career at Bell Northern Research in 1964, working on electronic telephone systems, before moving to MicroSystems International where he became manager of silicon chip design. In 1973, he founded MITEL with Terence Matthews and was the company’s CEO for 10 years.

Attracted to the explosive growth in the software market, and eager for a new challenge, Cowpland founded Corel Corporation in 1985. Over the next 15 years, he led Corel to become one of the world’s top software companies, with 50 million users of CorelDraw and WordPerfect worldwide.

In 2001, Cowpland took over as president and CEO of ZIM, bringing his experience and business savvy to the burgeoning mobile market.

A former member of Carleton’s Board of Governors, Cowpland holds many honorary degrees, including one from Carleton in 1985, and is a member of the development advisory board of Imperial College. He was given the AD Dunton Award by the Carleton Univeristy Alumni Association.