David Robert Filo

Background

David Robert Filo was born on April 20, 1966, in Madison, Wisconsin. When he was six, his family moved to Moss Bluff, Louisiana, near Lake Charles. He attended Sam Houston High School before pursuing computer engineering at Tulane University.

Filo's early adulthood coincided with the expansion of personal computing, academic networking, and the World Wide Web. His later work at Stanford placed him in the university's electrical-engineering community during the period when web browsers and online information services were beginning to reach a wider public.

Education

Filo graduated from Sam Houston High School and then studied computer engineering at Tulane University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1988 through a Dean's Honor Scholarship. Tulane, founded in New Orleans in 1834, developed a substantial research and professional education tradition, including engineering programs connected to the region's industrial and technological development.

He continued at Stanford University, earning a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1990 and beginning doctoral studies in the same field. Stanford's School of Engineering was a major center of research and entrepreneurship in the emerging technology sector; Filo's graduate work there brought him into contact with Jerry Yang, with whom he later created Yahoo!.

Career

Filo began his technology career through graduate study and research in electrical engineering at Stanford University. While working toward a doctorate, he and fellow graduate student Jerry Yang created an organized directory of websites in 1994, initially called Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web. The project grouped websites into subject categories and became an early way for users to navigate the rapidly expanding Web.

Filo and Yang recognized the commercial potential of the directory and co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in 1995. Filo served as a leading technologist and corporate officer, helping direct the technical operations behind Yahoo!'s network of web properties. His Filo Server Program, written in the C programming language, was used to generate dynamic pages on early versions of the Yahoo! website.

Yahoo! became one of the most widely recognized internet brands of the 1990s and early 2000s, expanding from a manually organized directory into a broad network of search, communication, media, and online services. Filo remained associated with the company as co-founder and Chief Yahoo!, contributing technical and strategic knowledge as the business developed.

His later activities included philanthropy and foundation work. In 2004, he gave $30 million to Tulane University to support engineering and computer science education, following an earlier gift that established the Yahoo! Founder's Chair in Engineering. With Angela Filo, he has also supported education, civil liberties, gender equality, democracy, and environmental initiatives through the foundation now known as Skyline Foundation.

Achievements

• Filo co-created Yahoo!'s predecessor, Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web, in 1994 with Jerry Yang. The manually organized directory helped early users navigate the rapidly expanding Web and became the foundation of Yahoo!.

• Filo co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in 1995 and helped develop it into one of the most recognized internet companies of the early commercial Web.

• Filo donated $30 million to Tulane University in 2004 to support engineering and computer science education. The gift formed part of Tulane's effort to expand scholarships, fellowships, faculty support, and engineering facilities.

Views

Filo's documented philanthropic work reflects an emphasis on expanding educational opportunity and supporting institutions connected with engineering, science, and technology. Through the foundation he established with Angela Filo, his charitable work has also supported civil liberties, democracy, gender equality, and environmental initiatives.

Membership

Filo is a board director and foundation manager of Skyline Foundation, formerly known as Yellow Chair Foundation. Established by David and Angela Filo in 2000, the foundation supports organizations working in areas including education, democracy, civil liberties, maternal health, and climate-related initiatives.

He was also identified as an ex officio member of the Tulane University School of Engineering's advisory structure in the early 2000s. His institutional affiliations connect his technology career with educational philanthropy and the development of engineering programs.

• Board director and foundation manager; the organization was known as Yellow Chair Foundation before June 2023.

  Skyline Foundation , United States

  2000 - present

• Ex officio member of the school's advisory structure.

  Tulane University School of Engineering , United States

  2003

Personality

A Stanford case study described Filo as quiet and reserved. His public profile has generally emphasized technical work and philanthropy rather than personal publicity.

Connections

Filo co-founded Yahoo! with Jerry Yang, whom he met while both were graduate students in electrical engineering at Stanford University. Their collaboration began with the creation of a web directory in 1994 and continued through the establishment of Yahoo! Inc. in 1995.

Filo is married to Angela Filo, formerly Angela Buenning, a photographer and educator. Together they established the foundation that was formerly known as Yellow Chair Foundation and is now called Skyline Foundation.

Collegue :

Jerry Yang

Stanford electrical-engineering graduate student and co-founder of Yahoo!. Yang and Filo created the early Yahoo! web directory in 1994 and co-founded Yahoo! Inc. in 1995.

Wife:

Angela Filo

Photographer and educator; formerly known as Angela Buenning. She co-established and co-directs the foundation now known as Skyline Foundation with Filo.

References

• David Filo | Tulane University School of Science and Engineering Documents Filo's Moss Bluff background, co-creation of Yahoo!, degrees from Tulane and Stanford, and technical role at Yahoo!.
• David Filo | Stanford University School of Engineering Describes Filo's co-creation of the early Yahoo! web guide, co-founding of Yahoo! Inc., Stanford electrical-engineering degree, and technical responsibilities at Yahoo!.
  2013
• Definitive Proxy Statement Documents Filo's role as a Yahoo! founder and officer, his co-development of Yahoo! in 1994, and his work toward a Stanford Ph.D. in electrical engineering.
  2014
• A History-Making Gift Documents Filo's $30 million gift to Tulane University and its intended support for scholarships and the university endowment.
  2004
• About - Skyline Foundation Documents the foundation's establishment by David and Angela Filo in 2000, its philanthropic priorities, and its former name, Yellow Chair Foundation.