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

In Cybersecurity, It’s “Learn and Adapt”

Oct 22, 2010 in Cybersecurity

The US Army and Marine Corps’ official Counterinsurgency Field Manual opens with a quote that could easily serve as a motto for cybersecurity professionals: “This is a game of wits and will. You’ve got to be learning and adapting constantly to survive.” General Peter J. Schoomaker was describing how to confront asymmetric military and political … Read More >>

How Will Hackers Fare in the Cloud?

Oct 12, 2010 in Cloud Computing

If Willie Sutton had been a hacker, we know what he’d have thought about cloud computing. Sutton, of course, was the 1930s bank robber famous for his quip that he robbed banks “because that’s where the money is.” And for hackers, the cloud might be just as tempting because it’s where a great deal of … Read More >>

An International Meeting of the Minds on IP Enforcement

Oct 7, 2010 in Compliance and Enforcement

Thirty-seven countries together representing more than half of world trade declared with one voice this week that “effective enforcement of intellectual property rights is critical to sustaining economic growth across all industries and globally.” They further noted: “[T]he proliferation of counterfeit and pirated goods as well as the proliferation of services that distribute infringing material, … Read More >>

The State of Cybersecurity

Oct 4, 2010 in Cybersecurity

This October is the seventh annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security. So it seems fitting to note, in the manner of a State of the Union Address, that the overall state of our cybersecurity is quite good: The threat level is most assuredly high, but industry and government have … Read More >>

Closing Government’s IT Performance Gap

Sep 30, 2010 in Cloud Computing

Propelled by the IT revolution, productivity in the private economy has grown in the last two decades at roughly double the rate of the 1970s and 80s. But as Federal Chief Performance Officer Jeffrey Zients argues, government has for the most part missed the wave. The Department of Veterans Affairs still processes claims by hand … Read More >>