| Birth Name: | Karl Francis Lopker |
| Birth Date: | 19 December 1951 |
| Birth Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Santa Barbara, California, U.S. |
| Education: | University of California, Santa Barbara (B.S. 1973) |
| Occupation: | Business executive |
| Years Active: | 1981–2018 |
| Employer: | QAD Inc |
| CEO | |
| Children: | 2 |
Karl Francis Lopker (December 19, 1951 – August 25, 2018) was an American business executive who served as CEO of QAD Inc and was a co-founder of Deckers Outdoor Corporation.
Lopker was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Downey, California.[1] He attended Don Bosco Technical Institute and matriculated at the University of California, Santa Barbara from which he graduated with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1973.[1] [2]
While a senior at UCSB, Lopker with fellow UCSB student Doug Otto created Deckers Outdoor Corporation in 1973.[3] Lopker oversaw manufacturing of the production while Otto was responsible for sales and distribution.[3] Despite a growing company, Lopker decided he wanted to work in software and was bought out by Otto in 1982.[3] He joined QAD Inc as CEO, a company his wife, Pamela Lopker, founded.[4]
Despite working at Deckers at the time, Lopker urged then-girlfriend Pamela to start QAD Inc.[5] The Lopkers made the decision to write one of their software programs to be able to run on multiple computers, launching their program, MFG/PRO, and the company to international success.[5] MFG/PRO was also the first manufacturing software program to use UNIX.[5] Lopker also made the decision to recruit PeopleSoft employees after their Oracle acquisition and subsequent layoffs.[6]
In addition to attending college at UCSB, Lopker and his wife were both honored by the UC Santa Barbara Alumni Association's "Distinguished Alumni Award" in 1998.[7] The Lopkers made a major donation to the university which resulted in the first endowed chair in computer science at the College of Engineering.[8]
Lopker married business partner and UCSB alumnae, Pamela Meyer, in 1981 and would later have two children.[1] [9] On August 25, 2018, Lopker died of prostate cancer, 13 years after diagnosis.[1] [9]