Chris Gladwin founded Cleversafe in 2004, bringing to the company the same innovative and entrepreneurial approach that has signified his executive leadership throughout his career. Gladwin, who was previously the creator of the first workgroup storage server at Zenith Data Systems and was a manager of corporate storage standards at Lockheed Martin.
Gladwin also created and managed a number of successful new technology start-ups, including MusicNow, which was acquired by Circuit City. He has been the creative force behind the development of the first dispersed storage system to solve the growing global problem of big data storage.
Years ahead of the market, Gladwin understood the growing issues surrounding unstructured data and the inability of traditional technology solutions to accommodate the explosive growth of digital assets such as audio, video, and imaging. Using advances in dispersed information technology, he applied that to storage to create a reliable, cost effective, secure solution with a limitless ability to scale. Gladwin then led Cleversafe to securing and deploying many of the largest data storage systems in the world.
Gladwin has created over 1,000 issued and pending patents related to dispersed storage technology. Cleversafe, inspired by Gladwin, continues to be one of the most patenting U.S. companies per employee.
Gladwin holds a degree in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the Illinois Institute of Technology as well as the board of directors of the Museum of Broadcast Communications, SmartBet Charities, the Chicago Innovation Awards, and the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center.