Inspiring genius in us all

If ever there exists someone to inspire the inner genius in us, it is Robert (Bob) Duggan. Bob lives his life in a genius way. He has taken chances in the plural, succeeded, learned, pivoted back and forward, and continually asked the tough questions critical to success in life and business. But to understand who he is and his approach with Genius Inc., Bob will tell you that the words that describe the concept of genius and how they are defined truly matter. New understandings precede novel considerations as well as bold action. 

  • Drive, hard work, and curiosity

  • Knowledge

  • Courage and devotion to goals

  • Bob’s essential joie de vivre, dynamic energy, philosophy on life

“When we look at the origin of the word genius, we see that genius is a compound word, the prefix ‘gen’ and the suffix ‘ius’ translates into an innate, inborn, inherent characteristic. Imagine if everyone you knew was just a little more genius. Next imagine everyone on the planet—8 billion+— a little more curious, more honest, more willing to take chances to experience losses as important as learning moments.”
— Bob Duggan

A timeline of Bob’s key accomplishments

1962

Studied Economics and Philosophy at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

1966 - 1968

Studied Business Management and Corporate Finance at University of California, Los Angeles.

1971 – 1975

Investor and Board Member in Sunset Designs (Jiffy Stitchery)—a needlepoint kit company, later sold to British multinational consumer goods company Reckitt & Colman—growing the investment from $90,000 to approximately $14 million.

1976 – 1987

Founder, Investor, Chairman of Paradise Bakery, ultimately sold to Panera Bread Company.

1980 - 1986

Founder and Investor, Government Technology Services—helping government agencies acquire computer technologies; later acquired by UNICOM Global.

1983 - 1988

Investor and Chairman of the Board, Communication Machinery Corp—third company in the world to create and sell Ethernet node processors; acquired by Rockwell International for approximately $50 million.

1985

Presented the United States Congressional Medal of Merit by Texas Congressman Dr. Ron Paul.

1987 - 1990

Board Member, Santa Barbara Museum. Executive Vice President, Santa Barbara Symphony.

1989 - 2003

Investor, Chairman, CEO at Computer Motion—one of the first robotic surgery, high-tech medical device companies, later merged with Intuitive. UCSB Board of Trustees since 1989 and has funded two chairs in mathematical, life, and physical sciences, and religious studies.

1997 - 2003

Founder, Investor, Chairman of Metropolis Media—a media company helping former communist countries transition to capitalism.

2000

Awarded Knight of the Legion of Honor by French President Jacques Chirac for his work on robotic surgical technology.

2003

Computer Motion merged with Intuitive and became a worldwide leader in medical robotics on a 1/3 - 2/3 basis.

2003 - 2011

Investor and board member, Intuitive Surgical (now Intuitive).

2004 - 2008

Investor, 2004 initial open market purchase of PCYC. From 2004 to 2008, accumulated more than 30% of PCYC shares.

2007

Director, Pharmacyclics (PCYC).

2008 - 2015

Chairman and CEO, Pharmacyclics—a pharmaceutical company now part of AbbVie.

2009

Delivered the commencement address at UCSB.

2016

Investor, Pulse Biosciences. Founder, Investor, and CEO of Duggan Investments—investing in the world's next great innovations in the biosciences field. Founder and CEO of Genius Inc.

2016

Presented the Venky Narayanamurti (Harvard Business Professor) Entrepreneurial Leadership Award for demonstrated high-tech entrepreneurship in various networking, surgical, and pharmaceutical sectors.

2017

Investor and Chairman of the Board, Pulse Biosciences—a bioelectric medicine company.

2019

Bob Duggan becomes investor in Summit Therapeutics.

2020

Bob becomes CEO of Summit Therapeutics and has operational authority.

2021

Built 'Genius Bridge' in Rural Costa Rica. Assumes accountability to educate the youth and all members of the Costa Rican community of Herradura. Starts a Genius Team in Costa Rica and the team gets Genius into other communities in the area (ongoing in 2025).

2024

Santa Barbara Medal of Honor, the highest award given at UCSB.

2025

Current member of Forbes Magazine's Top Worldwide Wealth Creators, ranked #136.