Col Needham
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.
Col Needham | |
|---|---|
 Needham in January 2002 | |
| Born | Colin Needham 26 January 1967 Denton, Lancashire, England |
| Occupation | Computer scientist |
| Spouse |
Karen Gaskin (m. 1989) |
| Children | 2 |
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
[edit]Needham was born on 26 January 1967 in Denton, Lancashire.[a][1] He attended Audenshaw School and Clarendon Sixth Form College in Hyde, Cheshire,[b] and graduated from the University of Leeds with a BSc (Hons) in computer science in 1988.[2]
Career
[edit]Needham started the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) in 1990 while working as an engineer at Hewlett-Packard (HP) in Bristol.[1][3][4] 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.[5]
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.[6][7] In 1998, IMDb was acquired by Amazon.[8] In 1999, Needham won two Webby Awards for IMDb.[9]
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".[10] In 2025, he stepped down as the chief executive officer of IMDb and handed over to Nikki Santoro, then shifted to the role of executive chairman.[4]
Personal life
[edit]Needham married Karen Gaskin in 1989. They live in Filton with their twin daughters.[citation needed]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Denton was in Lancashire until it was moved to the newly formed Greater Manchester in 1974.
- ^ Hyde was in Cheshire until it was moved to the newly formed Greater Manchester in 1974.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Siklos, Richard (28 May 2006). "From a Small Stream, a Gusher of Movie Facts". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
- ^ Glendinning, Amy (11 January 2011). "I am IMDb: The millionaire film geek from Denton behind the world's top movie website". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ "Col Needham Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- ^ a b Spangler, Todd (21 January 2025). "IMDb Founder Col Needham Steps Aside as CEO, COO Nikki Santoro Promoted to Chief Exec". Variety. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
- ^ Col Needham at IMDb
- ^ Finke, Nikki (5 August 2004). "Do You IMDb?". L.A. Weekly. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
- ^ "Col Needham's user profile – Internet Movie Database". IMDb. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ Shoard, Catherine (12 May 2013). "Six degrees of IMDb founder Col Needham This man has seen 8,524 movies. How does he know? Because he invented the Internet Movie Database – the indispensable cinema encyclopaedia – and put Bristol on Hollywood's map". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 May 2013.
- ^ "3rd Annual Webby Awards Nominees & Winners". Webby Awards. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
- ^ Pulver, Andrew (6 February 2017). "IMDb shuts down its message boards". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
External links
[edit]- Col Needham at IMDb
- Col Needham interview – The Open Mind, 21 February 2015
