Carl Erickson
About Carl Erickson
Carl Erickson is a retired founder and former executive chairman of Atomic Object, with a strong background in object-oriented programming and academic writing. He has held various leadership roles in multiple organizations and has contributed to the field through publications and teaching.
Work at Atomic Object
Carl Erickson co-founded Atomic Object in the summer of 2001 alongside his former student, Bill Bereza. He served in various roles throughout his tenure, including President and CEO from 2001 to 2019, Executive Chairman from 2019 to 2023, and transitioned through positions such as developer, delivery lead, agile evangelist, finance, marketing and sales. In his final role as Executive Chairman, he focused on governance, employee ownership, and purpose-driven growth. He has been instrumental in establishing Atomic Object's long-term vision, including a 100-year goal.
Education and Expertise
Carl Erickson holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Purdue University, where he studied from 1980 to 1985. He furthered his education at Michigan State University, achieving both a Master's and a PhD in Computer Engineering between 1985 and 1991. His academic background includes teaching and writing, particularly in object-oriented programming, which has influenced his professional contributions.
Background
Before founding Atomic Object, Carl Erickson was a professor at Grand Valley State University. He has a background in academic writing, having co-authored a paper on Object-Oriented Testing published in Communications of the ACM in September 1994. Additionally, he published a chapter on C++ and Objective-C in the 'Handbook of Software for Engineers and Scientists' in 1996.
Professional Experience and Leadership Roles
Carl Erickson has held various leadership positions in multiple organizations. He co-founded Blue Medora and served there from 2007 to 2020. He was Board Chair at Michigan Capital Network from 2019 to 2022. Currently, he holds director roles at AdAdapted, Legacy Trust GR, and Tappan Hill Ventures, as well as serving as Co-Founder at Mader Mill, Inc since 2018. His extensive experience spans governance, strategy, and employee ownership.
Publications and Contributions
Carl Erickson has contributed to the field of software engineering through various publications. Notably, he co-authored a paper on Object-Oriented Testing in 1994 and published a chapter on C++ and Objective-C in 1996. His academic and professional writings reflect his expertise in object-oriented programming and software development practices.