Founder Profile
Charles Trimble
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Charles Trimble?
Charles Trimble is a founder of Trimble Inc., which was founded in 1978 with R. Calvin Burns and M. Kent Wories.
- Company founded
- Trimble Inc.
- Founded
- 1978
- Co-founders
- R. Calvin Burns and M. Kent Wories
Background
Charles (Charlie) Trimble studied electrical engineering at Caltech and worked at Hewlett-Packard, where he managed integrated-circuit research, before starting Trimble Navigation.
Founding Story
Charles Trimble co-founded Trimble Navigation in 1978 and led it as CEO until 1998. He steered the company from LORAN-C marine receivers into commercial GPS for surveying, mapping and navigation, took it public in 1990 and built it into one of the first large civilian GPS businesses.