# Jack Dangermond

_American businessman and founder of ESRI_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/jack-dangermond
Last updated: 2026-10-31

> Paul Jacob Dangermond (born July 23, 1945) bka Jack Dangermond is an American billionaire businessman and environmental scientist. He is the co-founder and president of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), a privately held geographic information systems (GIS) software company that he started with his wife Laura in 1969. As of April 2026, his net worth was estimated at US$13.4 billion.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 25 July 1945 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3157158#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Loma Linda ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3157158#P19))
- **Citizenship:** United States ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3157158#P27))
- **Occupation:** geographer; businessperson ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3157158#P106))
- **Education:** Harvard University; University of Minnesota; California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Harvard Graduate School of Design; Redlands High School ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3157158#P69))
- **Spouse:** Laura Dangermond ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3157158#P26))
- **Awards:** Patron’s Medal; John Wesley Powell Award; Champions of the Earth; Cullum Geographical Medal; Audubon Medal; honorary doctor of the Clark University; Carl Mannerfelt Gold Medal ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3157158#P166))
- **LinkedIn:** jack-dangermond-46669b11 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3157158#P6634))

## About

Dangermond, Esri's president, works at its headquarters in Redlands, California. He founded the company to perform land-use analysis; however, its focus evolved into GIS-software development, highlighted by the release of ARC/INFO in the early 1980s. The development and marketing of ARC/INFO positioned Esri with the dominant market share among GIS-software developers. Esri's flagship product, ArcGIS, traces its heritage to Dangermond's initial efforts in developing ARC/INFO.

Dangermond is the founder of GIS Day: an annual, worldwide event taking place since 1999 to celebrate accomplishments and to promote the use of GIS and its technology.

## Questions

**When was Jack Dangermond born?**  
Jack Dangermond was born on 25 July 1945 in Loma Linda.

**Where did Jack Dangermond study?**  
Jack Dangermond was educated at Harvard University, University of Minnesota, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Harvard Graduate School of Design.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Jack Dangermond](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Dangermond) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q3157158](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3157158) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Remarks by Mr. Jack Dangermond at the Geographic Information Systems Conference (2).jpg by United States Mission Geneva (CC BY 2.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Remarks_by_Mr._Jack_Dangermond_at_the_Geographic_Information_Systems_Conference_(2).jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Jack Dangermond, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Remarks by Mr. Jack Dangermond at the Geographic Information Systems Conference (2).jpg — United States Mission Geneva, CC BY 2.0.

## Cite this page

"Jack Dangermond". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/jack-dangermond. Retrieved 6 November 2026.