Brian D. Robertson

1973 - 2011

Brian D. Robertson, Solar Pioneer and Entrepreneur, of Huntington Beach, CA, died Thursday evening in Jackson Township, York County, Pennsylvania, in an airplane crash. He was 38.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Robertson was the son of David S. and Donna C. (Smith) Robertson (Smith), of Baymouth, Ontario, Canada, and the husband of Eileen M. (McGuire) Robertson who had been from Upper Marlborough, Maryland. The couple would have been married eleven years on New Year's Eve.
Mr. Robertson was Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Board at Amonix Inc., a company specializing in the design and manufacture of utility-scale solar power systems, headquartered in Seal Beach, California. He had a remarkable record of entrepreneurial leadership in the solar field having also co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Sunworks Solar LLC, a solar power plant development company, which was acquired by Amonix Inc. While earning his Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, Mr. Robertson also co-founded and served as President and Chief Financial Officer of Sun Edison LLC, North America's largest solar energy services provider, which was acquired by MEMC Electronic Materials. Before his solar pursuits, shortly after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 1996 Mr. Robertson was an early pioneer in social networking. He co-founded and served as Chief Technical Officer of PlanetAll, the first social networking site and precursor to Facebook, which was acquired by Amazon.com. At Amazon Mr. Robertson served as Group Program Manager and was instrumental in building community and personalization technologies, as well as launching the company's toy business. Mr. Robertson also co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Visible Markets, Inc., an electronic trading platform for mortgage- and asset-backed securities, which was acquired by Thomson Financial in 2001.
Mr. Robertson's childhood was shaped by being raised in Fenelon Falls, a small rural town in Ontario where he graduated from high school. He spent his summers at the cottage with his parents and sister. The cottage provided a place of peace, contentment, and kept him closely connected with his extended family. His family was always a high priority. Being a big brother to Julie was a role Brian acted upon with great pride. He was extremely influential and a source of guidance and foundation for his sister throughout her life. His parents provided a source of great stability and unconditional love which he later conveyed to his children.
Mr. Robertson's prolific career was just one example of his enormous energy and enthusiasm for technology and excitement, which became evident at an early age. During summers at Lake Baptiste with his family, he became a world-class waterskiier and at the age of sixteen was named the Canadian National Barefoot Waterskiing Champion. In Fenelon Falls, a rural town in Ontario, Canada, where he was grew up, he developed a rocket project at age seventeen and won the Canadian National Science Fair then advanced to the World Science Fair in London. As an adult, he became an avid pilot who held his instrument and commercial licenses and frequently flew himself, family and friends across the United States and internationally.
Mr. Robertson had an uncanny drive to accomplish more in each day than most people could in a week, yet he focused on the people around him or the activity at hand. Family, friends and colleagues throughout the world will remember his contagious enthusiasm.
Mr. Robertson's love for his wife and three young children eclipsed that for work and play. Friends remember when Robertson twice shortened international business trips to attend camping weekends with his girls. A few weeks ago, he interrupted Board meeting activities to fly home and attend his son's school play.
In addition to his parents and wife, he is survived by three young children, Melanie, Brooke, and Max Robertson, a sister, Julie A. Chang, and her husband Richard, paternal grandmother, Marjorie Robertson, and six nieces and nephews, including Emma, Lotus and Tao Chang.
Viewings are scheduled for 6-8:00 p.m. Thursday, December 29, 2011 and 9-11:00 a.m. Friday December 30, 2011, at Kuhner Associates Funeral Directors, Inc., 863 South George Street, York (the former Hahn Home). A service to celebrate Mr. Robertson's exceptional life will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, 1415 Key Highway, Baltimore, Maryland.
In lieu flowers, donations may be made to "Brian D. Robertson Foundation" and sent to: Brian D. Robertson Foundation, c/o the Boston Foundation, 75 Arlington Street, Boston, MA 02116. 617-338-1700 www.tbf.org
The Brian D. Robertson Foundation supports organizations and causes that were most important to Brian, including, YMCA Indian Princess/Guide Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Business School, the Solar Foundation, and the American Heart Association.
KuhnerAssociates.com