Michael D. Solomon

Michael Solomon
Term: 2017-2020
Residence: Ross, California  

Michael D. Solomon was named Kent State University's first National Trustee in December of 2011.  The Kent State University Board of Trustees established the National Trustee position in September 2010 in recognition of the fact that Kent State executes its teaching, research and service missions at the state, national and international levels.  

Since graduating with a Kent State business degree in 1974, Solomon has been involved in early stage technology companies and emerging growth companies as an entrepreneur, investor, senior manager and board member.  Early in his career, he owned the youngest of Apple Computer's independent representative firms from 1980 to 1984, the period when Apple grew from $100 million to $1.4 billion in annual sales.  In 1985, he became the original vice president of sales and marketing with Aldus Corporation in Seattle, which launched the desktop publishing industry through its PageMaker software.  Solomon moved to the San Francisco Bay area in 1990 and has since provided leadership to companies including Collabra, Telocity, Flycast, and eShop.  He served as a partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures from 1996 to 2002. From 2005 to 2010, he served as CEO of Audyssey Laboratories of Los Angeles, a spin-off company of the University of Southern California.  He took the business from inception to a successful audio licensing company with business relationships with many of the world’s largest consumer electronics companies and automotive manufacturers.  In 2010, Solomon started his latest company, XYZ Color Science, Inc., which seeks to revolutionize the way color is displayed on all types of display devices.  He also serves as the Board Chairman of Within 3 Corporation, a Cleveland-based medical industry software company.  

Michael Solomon has maintained strong ties to his alma mater.  In 2001, he endowed the Michael D. Solomon Entrepreneurship Speaker Series at Kent State's Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship.  The speaker series brings experienced entrepreneurs on campus each semester to share their insights and wisdom with students.