About Bob Duggan

Robert (Bob) Duggan is a California-born, American entrepreneur with an enduring succession of profitable business ventures extending over five decades.

From a fledgling bakery to cutting-edge pharmaceuticals, from microcomputing to medical innovation, Bob Duggan has directly created lasting changes in many organizations– change resulting in financial success for those involved, as well as the betterment of the many lives impacted by these advancements.

Known to his friends for both his willingness to tackle boardroom challenges and his love of surfing, Bob lives to inspire the creative genius in every endeavor he pursues.

Bob Duggan's Ventures include:

  • Sunset Designs (1971-1985): Bob provided 50% of the venture capital, Sunset Designs achieved over 80% market share and was successfully sold to Reckitt and Coleman for $15 million. The initial investment was $100,000. This brings absolute return to 14,900% or 43% annualized.

  • Paradise Bakery (1976-1987): Bob’s startup investment helped Paradise Bakery grow before its acquisition in 1987. Today, it operates as part of Panera Bread. This venture generated 596% in absolute return and 19% in annualized return.

  • Government Technology Services Inc. (GTSI, 1986-1993): Bob’s strategic investment led to revenue growth from $8 million to $600 million, an IPO, and a workforce of nearly 450 across 11 offices. Revenue growth achieved 85% CAGR over period of 7 years. GTSI later formed a $740 million entity through the acquisition of Falcon.

  • Communication Machinery Corp. (CMC, 1983-1988): CMC, with Bob’s leadership and $6 million in capital raised, dominated 80% of the VME bus workstation Ethernet node market. The company was later sold to Rockwell for $45 million. The absolute return from this venture came at 650% or 50% on annual basis.

  • Winform: Bob, with Trish’s support, invested in a recyclable plastics company in East Los Angeles, securing major accounts like Trader Joe's. The company was sold to Newell, now valued at over $3 billion as of September 19, 2024.

  • Robert Duggan & Associates: A premier private investment firm.

  • Computer Motion (1989-2003): Bob led Computer Motion as Chairman of the Board, culminating in a strategic merger with Intuitive Surgical. At the time, Computer Motion held a 1/3 stake, which today is valued at $58.3 billion as of September 19, 2024. Value growth from the merger to September 2024 has been at the rate of 33% annually.

  • Metropolis Media (1997-2003): Bob invested $3 million to help former Yugoslav republics transition to capitalism via outdoor media. The company was sold to Capital Research for $45 million. The absolute return from this venture was 1,400% or 57% on annual basis.

  • Pharmacyclics (2007-2015): Bob’s $50 million investment resulted in a $21 billion sale, with Bob’s stake realizing $3.5 billion. The absolute return from this investment was 6,900% or 70% on annual basis. Pharmacyclics, Inc. was a biopharmaceutical company that became well-known for its work in developing innovative cancer therapies, particularly in the field of hematologic malignancies (blood cancers). Pharmacyclics' most significant contribution was the development of ibrutinib, marketed under the brand name Imbruvica. Ibrutinib is a first-in-class Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor.

  • Summit Therapeutics (2019-2024): Bob’s investment of $700 million now holds a value of $12.7 billion as of September 19, 2024. Summit was founded in 2003 and the company is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and has additional offices in Menlo Park, California, and Oxford, UK. The Company’s current lead development candidate is ivonescimab, a novel, potential first-in-class bispecific antibody intending to combine the effects of immunotherapy via a blockade of PD-1 with the anti-angiogenesis effects of an anti-VEGF compound into a single molecule. Summit’s mission, in part, is to develop patient, physician, caregiver, and societal-friendly medicinal therapies intended to improve quality of life, increase potential duration of life, and resolve serious unmet medical needs. 

  • Pulse Biosciences (2017-2024): Bob’s $280 million investment is currently valued at $800 million as of September 19, 2024. Pulse Biosciences, Inc. is leveraging its novel and proprietary Nanosecond Pulsed Field Ablation™ (nano-PFA) technology with areas of therapeutical focus on soft tissue ablation, epicardial surgical ablation, and endocardial catheter ablation.