Col Needham
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Colin Needham (born 26 January 1967) is an English computer scientist who founded the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). He was its chief executive officer from its creation in 1990 until 2025, when he stepped down and instead took a role as its executive chairman.
Early life
Needham was born on 26 January 1967 in Denton, Lancashire.Template:Efn<ref name="nyt 1">Template:Cite web</ref> He attended Audenshaw School and Clarendon Sixth Form College in Hyde, Cheshire,Template:Efn and graduated from the University of Leeds with a BSc (Hons) in computer science in 1988.<ref name="MM uk 1">Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
Needham started the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) in 1990 while working as an engineer at Hewlett-Packard (HP) in Bristol.<ref name="nyt 1"/><ref name="imdb bio 1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Variety">Template:Cite web</ref> The site evolved from what was initially his personal film database which became an online bulletin board made from simple records, kept on a succession of early computers and contributed to by several people, all of whom Needham outlasted.<ref name="imdb name 1">Template:IMDb name</ref>
By 1996, with the success of IMDb's first film-related advertising campaign (for Independence Day), Needham had quit HP to work on IMDb fully as a paid employee.<ref name="LAW 1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="imdb 2">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1998, IMDb was acquired by Amazon.<ref name="guardian 1">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1999, Needham won two Webby Awards for IMDb.<ref name="WA 1">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2017, Needham removed message boards from IMDb, stating that they "are no longer providing a positive, useful experience for the vast majority of our more than 250 million monthly users worldwide".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2025, he stepped down as the CEO of IMDb and handed over to Nikki Santoro, then shifted to the role of executive chairman.<ref name="Variety"/>
Personal life
Needham married Karen Gaskin in 1989. They live in Filton with their twin daughters.Template:Cn
Notes
References
External links
- Template:IMDb name
- Col Needham interview – The Open Mind, 21 February 2015