Boris Jerkunica
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boris Jerkunica is the majority owner and chairman of the Atlanta Silverbacks soccer club and part of the ownership group of the Carolina RailHawks FC soccer club.
Jerkunica is a native of Croatia. He moved with his family to Atlanta, Georgia in 1975 when he was still in elementary school. The love for the game of soccer and the culture of soccer were already ingrained in him by the time he reached the United States.
Jerkunica graduated from Emory University in 1987 with a Master of Science degree in Mathematics. While at Emory, he received All-American honors and still holds both the all time scoring and assist records for the school. Within five years of his graduation from Emory, Jerkunica started his first software consulting business, Software Builders, which developed client/server e-commerce software for companies such as IBM, Thomas Publishing, etc. He sold the company in 1997.
In 1996, Boris co-founded Netzip with Phil Hill; the Company developed the product of the same name that pioneered the download market. Four years later Netzip was purchased by RealNetworks. The acquisition was the second largest Internet sale of 2000.
His love of the sport has led him to purchase a majority interest in the Atlanta Silverbacks, minority interest in Carolina RailHawks F.C., and to his current project - the development of a fan and family-friendly soccer complex and stadium in Atlanta, similar in concept to the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, California. He believes that within twenty years soccer will be on the same level as other major league sports in the United States and wants to do his part to get it there.
In addition to his roles in soccer, he is the co-founder of a VoIP telecom called ZivVa. ZivVa is on the forefront of a new and exciting technology where phone calls are transmitted over the Internet instead of over traditional legacy phone lines.