Inlet CEO Passes Away

Written by Ryan Lawler

Tuesday, July 7. 2009 at 01:15 PM EDT Post a comment

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Inlet Technologies Inc. co-founder and CEO Neal Page passed away last night, after a year-long battle with leukemia.

Page, who was 50, had spent the previous 20 years in the digital media space. Prior to founding Inlet in 2003, he had founded Osprey Technologies, which is now a part of ViewCast Corporation.

In a heartfelt blog entry, Inlet co-founder John Bishop details the many ways that Page touched others around him. In honor of Page, Bishop will be participating in the Aug. 24 LIVESTRONG Challenge 100-mile bike ride. Bishop's LIVESTRONG page can be found here: http://philly09.livestrong.org/jebishop

Though we did not know Neal personally, our thoughts go out to his friends and family.

The company issued the following press release:

With more than 20 years experience in digital media imaging, Page, 50, was a true pioneer of new media and a recognized leader in the streaming media industry. After founding Inlet in 2003, he helped build the company into a leading provider of new media encoding solutions that quickly became the standard for live streaming over the Internet, especially in the sports arena.

Prior to Inlet, Page founded Osprey Technologies (now a division of ViewCast Corporation) in 1994, where together with strategic partners such as Microsoft and RealNetworks, he established the Osprey brand as the industry's "de facto" standard for enabling video over the Internet. Previously, Page held various management and engineering positions at Sun Microsystems, General Electric, and Data General.

In a statement, colleague and friend John Bishop, an Inlet co-founder as well as the company's senior vice president of strategy and business development, said, "Neal truly strived to live each day of his life to the fullest, both on a personal and professional level. He was immensely proud of the team he built at Inlet, and we remain dedicated to fulfilling his vision of bringing technology to the market that fundamentally changes the way people consume media."

Among his many honors, Page was selected as one of Streaming Media magazine's 2008 Streaming Media All Stars. He was also dedicated to contributing to the local entrepreneurial and educational communities, having founded and nurtured two successful technology companies in the Raleigh, NC, area, and occasionally guest lecturing at North Carolina State University, his alma mater. Most of all, Page was deeply committed to Inlet’s employees and customers, and developed a strong people-focused culture at the company.

"Neal's contributions to Inlet, its customers, partners, and employees are countless," commented Don Bossi, Chairman of Inlet's Board of Directors and General Partner with Technology Venture Partners. "Neal had a gift for using his humble spirit and strength of character to bring his visions of success to fruition. Under his guidance, Inlet has developed a strong leadership team that has helped grow the company and remains committed to sustaining Neal’s vision of technology leadership and operational excellence well into the future."

In addition to his mother and sister, Page is survived by his four beloved children, Michelle (23), Robert (21), Stephen (18), and Kevin (11).

Funeral arrangements are pending.