Bill Kirkner
- Producer
Through a combination of plain-spoken evangelism and shrewd
commercialization, Bill Kirkner has made a career of bringing new
technologies to the marketplace. After graduation from the Georgetown
University Law Center in 1992, Mr. Kirkner worked as a consultant for
the US Department of Energy's civilian technology transfer program
through Walcoff, a Washington, DC-area high-tech firm. During his
tenure at the DOE, Mr. Kirkner facilitated the negotiation of
technology transfer agreements that helped US companies turn government
sponsored technology into consumer products in the areas of high
speed/high performance computing, communications software,
biotechnology, automated testing, and advanced materials. During this
period, Mr. Kirkner developed the AMTEX Master CRADA, a multi-billion
dollar five-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement
involving DOE, The National Institute for Standards and Technology
(NIST), the Department of Commerce, the multi-program laboratories of
the DOE and their contracted operators, and five trade associations
representing the American Textile Industry.
In 1993, Mr. Kirkner recommended that the Kennedy Center forgo their plans of creating a proprietary dial-up bulletin board system for arts educators in favor of moving the information to the new and then little-known multi-media, open-standards based graphical interface for the Internet being proposed by CERN and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Before long, the ARTSEDGE Website became a standard for showing how government agencies could more effectively use the Internet and the Web to communicate with constituents. Mr. Kirkner thereafter designed and implemented websites for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the DOE.
In 1994, Mr. Kirkner created a practice group within Walcoff focused on the emerging Internet and Online Services area, and soon became its Technical and Creative Director. In two years, this practice grew to an estimated $2M yearly revenue, with a client list including Marriott International, Sprint International (and later Global One with Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom), Booz Allen Hamilton, Communications Workers of America, Micrografx, the International City/County Management Association and InterAction. Mr. Kirkner created a portal site called WebWise during this period, and oversaw the development of an online commerce application called "Country Store" based on Netscape's secure server. A tireless advocate of the Web, Mr. Kirkner began writing for QUE, and contributed to 10 books over the next two years, including the QUE Special Edition publications Using the Internet, Using Netscape 2, Using CompuServe, and Using Visual InterDev, which became top sellers for QUE. Running a Perfect Website became QUE's all-time best selling book; and Netscape bundled its sequel, Running A Perfect Netscape Server, with their FastTrack server software. Mr. Kirkner found a warm reception in Nashville for his plans to create entertainment websites aimed at home users. After a series of hugely successful online chats during the 1996 Country Radio Seminar, Mr. Kirkner's client list grew to include Vince Gill, Reba McEntire (and her management company Starstruck), and the Country Music Association.
In 1996, Mr. Kirkner left Walcoff and joined MCI as the Product Architect of their then newly launched consumer dial-up Internet service. Under his leadership, the messaging systems (email, USENET) were completely overhauled, Personal Web Page service was launched, and MCI became the first national ISP to offer ubiquitous 56K coverage. MCI's dialup network performance was rated among the best for national ISPs in the Spring of 1998 by Boardwatch magazine and Inverse Network Technologies. Mr. Kirkner played a critical role in both the buildup of MCI's systems to support the launch of Yahoo! Online and in the divestiture of MCI's consumer dial-up Internet assets to Cable & Wireless during the merger of MCI and Worldcom. Since the merger, he has worked on the development of platforms for a new MCI Worldcom dialup Internet service.
Since 1999, Mr. Kirkner has server as the Sr. Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Prodigy Communications, one of the nation's largest Internet Service Providers. During his tenure, Prodigy experienced a tremendous amount of transition, beginning with an IPO in 1999, and including the wholesale acquisition of internet customer bases from Cable and Wireless and WebAmerica, as well as the outright acquisition of two other companies, BizOnThe.Net, a web hosting company, and Flashnet, a regional ISP. Under Mr. Kirkner's leadership, Prodigy's technology organization had a number of significant accomplishments, including three major software releases and three major portal redesigns. Teams under Mr. Kirkner's supervision also created the first multi- platform internet Instant Messaging system as well as the first end-to-end bilingual English/Spanish consumer Internet experience in the U.S. In 2001, Prodigy was itself acquired by SBC (Southwestern Bell Corporation), and after the transition of Prodigy to its new ownership, Mr. Kirkner left to become President of Independent Artists, a production company specializing in independent films and documentaries.
In 1993, Mr. Kirkner recommended that the Kennedy Center forgo their plans of creating a proprietary dial-up bulletin board system for arts educators in favor of moving the information to the new and then little-known multi-media, open-standards based graphical interface for the Internet being proposed by CERN and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Before long, the ARTSEDGE Website became a standard for showing how government agencies could more effectively use the Internet and the Web to communicate with constituents. Mr. Kirkner thereafter designed and implemented websites for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the DOE.
In 1994, Mr. Kirkner created a practice group within Walcoff focused on the emerging Internet and Online Services area, and soon became its Technical and Creative Director. In two years, this practice grew to an estimated $2M yearly revenue, with a client list including Marriott International, Sprint International (and later Global One with Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom), Booz Allen Hamilton, Communications Workers of America, Micrografx, the International City/County Management Association and InterAction. Mr. Kirkner created a portal site called WebWise during this period, and oversaw the development of an online commerce application called "Country Store" based on Netscape's secure server. A tireless advocate of the Web, Mr. Kirkner began writing for QUE, and contributed to 10 books over the next two years, including the QUE Special Edition publications Using the Internet, Using Netscape 2, Using CompuServe, and Using Visual InterDev, which became top sellers for QUE. Running a Perfect Website became QUE's all-time best selling book; and Netscape bundled its sequel, Running A Perfect Netscape Server, with their FastTrack server software. Mr. Kirkner found a warm reception in Nashville for his plans to create entertainment websites aimed at home users. After a series of hugely successful online chats during the 1996 Country Radio Seminar, Mr. Kirkner's client list grew to include Vince Gill, Reba McEntire (and her management company Starstruck), and the Country Music Association.
In 1996, Mr. Kirkner left Walcoff and joined MCI as the Product Architect of their then newly launched consumer dial-up Internet service. Under his leadership, the messaging systems (email, USENET) were completely overhauled, Personal Web Page service was launched, and MCI became the first national ISP to offer ubiquitous 56K coverage. MCI's dialup network performance was rated among the best for national ISPs in the Spring of 1998 by Boardwatch magazine and Inverse Network Technologies. Mr. Kirkner played a critical role in both the buildup of MCI's systems to support the launch of Yahoo! Online and in the divestiture of MCI's consumer dial-up Internet assets to Cable & Wireless during the merger of MCI and Worldcom. Since the merger, he has worked on the development of platforms for a new MCI Worldcom dialup Internet service.
Since 1999, Mr. Kirkner has server as the Sr. Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Prodigy Communications, one of the nation's largest Internet Service Providers. During his tenure, Prodigy experienced a tremendous amount of transition, beginning with an IPO in 1999, and including the wholesale acquisition of internet customer bases from Cable and Wireless and WebAmerica, as well as the outright acquisition of two other companies, BizOnThe.Net, a web hosting company, and Flashnet, a regional ISP. Under Mr. Kirkner's leadership, Prodigy's technology organization had a number of significant accomplishments, including three major software releases and three major portal redesigns. Teams under Mr. Kirkner's supervision also created the first multi- platform internet Instant Messaging system as well as the first end-to-end bilingual English/Spanish consumer Internet experience in the U.S. In 2001, Prodigy was itself acquired by SBC (Southwestern Bell Corporation), and after the transition of Prodigy to its new ownership, Mr. Kirkner left to become President of Independent Artists, a production company specializing in independent films and documentaries.