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 New Wave of IT-Focused Trade Barriers, a Case Study: Regulatory Obstacles to Cloud Computing

Jun 22, 2012 in Cloud Computing, Global Markets

This week BSA released “Lockout,” a report that shows how a new wave of IT-focused trade barriers threaten to keep global companies out of critical emerging markets — and how the actions of big markets like China and India signal a domino effect, with other emerging economies following suit. The report describes five distinct types … Read More >>

Lockout: How a New Wave of Trade Protectionism Is Spreading through the World’s Fastest-Growing IT Markets — and What to Do about It

Jun 20, 2012 in Global Markets

We have reached a pivotal new phase in the information technology revolution. The biggest centers of growth for IT products and services are no longer established powers like the United States and Europe, but emerging markets such as China, India, and Brazil. New personal computer sales in China already outstrip sales in the United States, … Read More >>

Celebrating the Power of Ideas

Apr 25, 2012 in Intellectual Property

The English author H.G. Wells is thought to have said, “Human history is, in essence, the history of ideas.” How right he was considering the visionary innovators who have transformed the world with great ideas. Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Johann Gutenberg, plus more modern day icons such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates — to … Read More >>

IP: The Not-So-Secret Sauce in the US Economy

Apr 11, 2012 in Intellectual Property

If there was any doubt, a new report from the Commerce Department makes it abundantly clear that intellectual property is the secret sauce in the US economy, officially contributing roughly one-third of the country’s GDP and more than a quarter of its employment. If you are keeping score, that comes to $5 trillion and 40 … Read More >>

The Legal Gulf Between China and the West Remains Wide

Mar 28, 2012 in Intellectual Property

What to do about China? It is the world’s second-largest economy and our second-largest trading partner, after neighboring Canada. Yet it remains the wild, wild East of the global economy, a place arguably more dangerous than anywhere else in the world for innovative U.S. companies to do business. If likely president-to-be Xi Jinping is interested … Read More >>