Sam Blackman, the inspirational leader of Elemental Technologies, has died suddenly at the age of 41.
It’s reported he suffered a cardiac arrest.
Blackman took Elemental Technologies from a small start-up through to its sale to Amazon in 2015 for $296 million. He remained with the company through its transformation into AWS Elemental.
“AWS Elemental has lost a passionate, visionary and humble leader and the world has lost an inspiring human being dedicated to community,” the company said in a statement. “Sam’s spirit will always be at the core of what we do. Sam loved his work, but his greatest love was for his wife and children. Our thoughts are with his family and all those he touched on his journey.”
The Blackman family also paid tribute: “Sam died peacefully yesterday surrounded by his loved ones. In his private life, he cherished his family, and in his public life he cherished his community and the business he founded, Elemental Technologies. He was a passionate advocate for community service who rallied so many towards a greater good for the environment, hunger, education and inclusion. We are thankful to all those who have shared their thoughts and prayers for Sam. We ask that you respect our privacy during this time of grief.”
Prior to co-founding Elemental in 2006, Blackman designed integrated circuit products for Pixelworks. He also held engineering positions at Silicon Graphics and Intel Corporation.
No leadership succession plans have been announced.
