President, Chief Executive Officer & Director, Dolby Laboratories
Search every verified Kevin Yeaman interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In December 2015, Kevin Yeaman, President and CEO of Dolby Laboratories, joined San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee to dedicate the company's new worldwide headquarters in the city's Central Market neighborhood. Yeaman noted that the event coincided with Dolby's 50th anniversary, recalling that the company was founded in 1965 after Ray Dolby mailed his first patent from a cross-country trip. He described the new building as a "working laboratory" with nearly 65,000 square feet of lab spaces and 100 labs that emulate film, broadcast, online, and mobile experiences. Yeaman also highlighted that the building features 36 art installations by 21 artists, about a third from the Bay Area, representing their interpretations of Dolby. Yeaman discussed Dolby's community involvement, stating that the previous year employees volunteered over 2,000 hours of service to local organizations, and on the Monday before the event, more than 400 employees volunteered 1,200 hours on 19 projects. He emphasized that financial assistance is part of the company's program and that employees value opportunities to share their time and expertise. Yeaman also described the company's mission to "advance the science of sight and sound to create and enable spectacular experiences," and shared personal experiences with Dolby technologies, such as a visceral response to rain in Dolby Atmos and a physical reaction to fire images in Dolby Vision. He closed by quoting founder Ray Dolby on the uncertainty inherent in invention, saying that "willingness to work through the uncertainty is what allows us as a company to evolve and to thrive."
“This is Dolby's 50-year anniversary — it all started in 1965 when Ray and Dagmar were on their way back from India... Ray's first patent to London — the company was founded in 1965.”
“We advance the science of sight and sound to create and enable spectacular experiences.”
“We worked with a number of artists around the world — 21 artists, about a third from the Bay Area — and there are 36 art installations throughout this building that represent their interpretation of who Dolby is.”
“This building is also a working laboratory — there are almost 65,000 square feet of lab spaces in this building, a hundred labs; these labs emulate film, broadcast, online, mobile and other experiences.”
“We learned that when people are experiencing one of our newest visual technologies, Dolby Vision, they had a physical response to images of fire — a visceral response that didn't exist before.”
“The first time I experienced Dolby Atmos — it was just rain, but when it went to Dolby Atmos I had a visceral response; I felt like I was about to get wet.”
“This is of course also a home — it's a home for 750 employees in San Francisco and a headquarters for over 1,800 employees around the globe.”
“Last year the company volunteered collectively over 2,000 hours of service to local organizations; on Monday over 400 employees went out into the community on 19 different projects and volunteered over 1,200 hours of service.”
“Financial assistance is very much a part of our program and it was important to us that we look for opportunities to form deeper partnerships than that; employees are enjoying the opportunity to get out in the community and share their time and expertise.”
“To be an inventor you have to be willing to live with a sense of uncertainty, to work in this darkness and grope towards an answer, to put up with anxiety about whether there is an answer — that willingness to work through the uncertainty is what allows us as a company to evolve and to thrive.”
Dolby Laboratories (NYSE:DLB) President and CEO Kevin Yeaman and San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee today dedicated Dolby's ...
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