Robert Holleyman

As President and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance from 1990 until April 2013, Robert Holleyman long served as the chief advocate for the global software industry. Before leaving BSA to start his own venture, Cloud4Growth, Holleyman led the most successful anti-piracy program in the history of any industry, driving down software piracy rates in markets around the world.

Named one of the 50 most influential people in the intellectual property world, he was instrumental in putting into place the global policy framework that today protects software under copyright law. A widely respected champion for open markets, Holleyman also was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, the principal advisory committee for the US government on trade matters.

Holleyman was a leader in industry efforts to establish the legal framework necessary for cloud-computing technologies to flourish. He was an early proponent for policies that promote deployment of security technologies to build public trust and confidence in cyberspace. And he created a highly regarded series of forums for industry executives and policymakers to exchange points of view and forge agreements on the best ways to spur technology advances and promote economic growth.

Before heading BSA, Holleyman was a counselor and legislative adviser in the United States Senate, an attorney in private practice, and a judicial clerk in US District Court. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, a J.D. from Louisiana State University, and has completed the Stanford Executive Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Posts by Robert Holleyman

The Year “Cloud” Drops Its Quotation Marks

Jan 18, 2011 in Cloud Computing

Remember when the word Internet was entering the popular lexicon? It was the mid-1990s. The implications of the new technology were becoming clear, and the word was starting to appear frequently in the news. But it often appeared in quotation marks (as in, “the global system of interconnected computer networks known as the ‘Internet’”), because … Read More >>

Software Issues Top the Agenda for US-China Trade

Dec 17, 2010 in Compliance and Enforcement

If there was any doubt about the relative importance of software issues in the economic relationship between the United States and China, it was dispelled in the ministerial sessions of the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) that were held December 14–15 in Washington. The official statement and fact sheet that US negotiators issued … Read More >>

US-China JCCT Talks Represent an Inflection Point

Dec 6, 2010 in Compliance and Enforcement

After years of frustration with persistently high rates of software piracy in China, could it be that we are about to see actual improvement in legal software sales there? Having met recently with top officials in the US and Chinese governments, I am guardedly optimistic. One thing is abundantly clear: Both governments, at the very … Read More >>

Signs of Hope in the World’s Fastest-Growing Markets?

Nov 29, 2010 in Industry

Around the world today, policy-makers are coming to understand the role intellectual property can play in invigorating economic growth and creating jobs. I have just returned from a series of meetings in India and China, and while I saw signs of progress on intellectual property issues in both places, I was also reminded first hand … Read More >>

Closing the Deal on Cybersecurity Legislation

Nov 2, 2010 in Cybersecurity

Well, that headline might be premature. Unless something dramatic happens in the lame duck session after today’s midterm elections — which appears unlikely — we will not have a cybersecurity bill this year. And that might not be such a bad thing, because while lawmakers have made some good headway on cybersecurity issues in the … Read More >>