Samuel P. Geisberg
Co-founder 1985Background
A Soviet-born mathematician who earned a Ph.D. and taught at Leningrad University before emigrating to the United States in 1974. At Computervision and Applicon, he proposed a radical new approach to CAD based on solid geometry and parametric feature-based modeling. When neither employer would fund the idea, he founded Parametric Technology Corporation in May 1985 with $750,000 in seed capital. Geisberg's defining decision was insisting that attorney Noel Pasternak personally invest $25,000 of the initial $150,000 seed round — a move that ensured Pasternak's full commitment to the venture. Geisberg served as executive vice president of R&D until leaving the company in the late 1990s.