Rob Glaser

Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer RealNetworks

Last Reviewed: September 28, 2026

Executive Summary

Rob Glaser founded RealNetworks in 1994 and has chaired its board ever since. He is also its Chief Executive Officer, a role he held from the founding until January 2010 and returned to in 2012. Since December 2022 the company has been private and controlled by Glaser, after a merger with an entity he majority-owns and controls. RealNetworks started in streaming media. It now describes itself as an AI company, with the SAFR facial recognition platform, GameHouse and RealPlayer among its businesses. In April 2026 it completed the sale of its mobile division, including the messaging-security work built around KONTXT, to TransUnion.

Career Highlights

• Founder of RealNetworks and Chairman of its board since its inception in 1994.
• Chief Executive Officer of RealNetworks from 1994 through January 2010; interim CEO again from July 2012, made permanent in July 2014.
• Venture partner at Accel Partners from May 2010, according to RealNetworks’ 2022 filing.
• Led the December 2022 take-private of RealNetworks, in which public shareholders received $0.73 per share in cash and the company became RealNetworks LLC.
• Sold RealNetworks’ mobile division to TransUnion; the deal was announced in February 2026 and completed on 1 April 2026.
• Earlier spent ten years at Microsoft developing new businesses where computers, consumer electronics and media meet.

Professional Journey

Before RealNetworks, Glaser spent ten years at Microsoft. According to RealNetworks’ SEC filings, his work there centred on new businesses at the convergence of the computer, consumer electronics and media industries. He founded RealNetworks in 1994 and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from the start.

He stepped down as CEO in January 2010 but stayed on as Chairman, and from May 2010 was also a venture partner at Accel Partners. The break was short. In July 2012 the board named him interim CEO, and in July 2014 the appointment became permanent.

The company he returned to was moving away from its media-software roots toward artificial intelligence and computer vision. The main example is SAFR, a facial recognition platform for access control and security. In 2022 Glaser, who then owned about 38.5% of the common stock and all of the preferred stock, agreed to take RealNetworks private. The merger closed on 21 December 2022. The Nasdaq-listed company became RealNetworks LLC, owned through Greater Heights LLC, which he majority-owns and controls.

The company then adopted what Glaser called a “leaner, faster-moving, and more decentralized operating plan”. Chris Wheaton became President, COO and CFO in 2023 and took charge of the central functions, while division leaders ran each business. Charisse Jacques became President of SAFR in October 2024.

In February 2026 TransUnion agreed to buy RealNetworks’ mobile division, and the deal completed on 1 April 2026. The division included the KONTXT messaging platform, which the company says has blocked more than eight billion spam and scam messages. Announcing the sale, Glaser noted that the mobile team had been building fraud-reduction technology for nearly two decades. He remains Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of what the company now calls RealNetworks Group.

Education

Yale University

B.A. and M.A. in Economics; B.S. in Computer Science