Robert Shillman (aka Bob Shillman) (born April 6, 1946 in Boston, Massachusetts) is Founder, Chairman and CEO of Cognex Corporation (Nasdaq: CGNX). Cognex is a provider of machine vision systems, sensors, and industrial ID readers used in automated manufacturing.

Biography

Dr. Shillman was born on April 6, 1946 in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Shillman holds a B.S.E.E. from Northeastern University as well as an M.S.E.E. and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Founding Cognex

Dr. Shillman founded Cognex Corporation in 1981 while a member of the Electrical Engineering faculty of Tufts University. He decided to leave academia to start Cognex, investing his life savings of $86,000 into the company. He invited two MIT graduate students –Bill Silver and Marilyn Matz– to embark on this business venture with him, offering free racing bicycles to convince them to leave MIT for a summer. These three individuals gave Cognex its start and its name, which was derived from the phrase "Cognition Experts."

Cognex was one of the first companies to explore commercial applications for machine vision in the early 1980’s. By the 1990’s, Cognex’s business had grown substantially due to the demand for machine vision to help automate semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. Today, Cognex serves a wide variety of manufacturing industries, and it is recognized as one of the leading suppliers of machine vision and industrial ID products worldwide. Cognex went public on the NASDAQ exchange in 1989.

Professional Recognition

Since founding Cognex in 1981, Dr. Shillman has gained international recognition for his unique work hard/play hard management style. He was named Inc. magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year in 1990, received an Achievement Award in Leadership from the Automated Imaging Association in 1992, and received the North American SEMI Award in 2005 ..
for his contributions to the semiconductor industry. He has published more than 20 technical papers and is recognized as an expert in the field of optical character recognition (OCR) and industrial uses of machine vision.

In June 2000, Dr. Shillman received an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from Northeastern University in recognition of his work to expand the role of machine vision technology in factory automation. In September 2008, Dr. Shillman was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Waseda University in Japan for his work in establishing an entrepreneurship program at Waseda and for his contribution to the development of machine vision systems.

Professional Activities

Dr. Shillman sits on the board of trustees at the Northeastern University.

Philanthropy

Dr. Shillman believes in the Jewish philosophy of Tikkun O’lam, helping to make the world a better place for everyone. He sits on philanthropic boards such as The Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous and the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

He instituted the Cognex Community Donations Program that supports a variety of worthy causes in the towns and cities where the company’s regional offices are located.

Dr. Shillman also established the Perseverance Awards at Cognex to reward those individuals who have devoted significant time to the company’s success. The awards increase in value, and when an employee reaches 25 years of service he/she is given the opportunity to become a philanthropist. The company sets up a charitable giving account in the employee’s name and under his/her control, funded with $25,000 to donate to any IRS-approved charities.

Dr. Shillman has made substantial financial gifts to Northeastern University, which named its major classroom building, Shillman Hall, in his honor, and to Waseda University, which named the building housing its Center for Entrepreneurship in his honor, and to the Israel Institute of Technology, which named the plaza of its physics center in his honor. He has endowed three professorships, the Robert J. Shillman Career Development Professorship at MIT, the Robert J. Shillman Trustee Professor of Entrepreneurship at Northeastern University and the Robert J. Shillman Career Advancement Chair at the Israel Institute of Technology.

Starting in 2006, Dr. Shillman has waived his annual salary and bonus at Cognex and has requested that those amounts be donated each year to charity.