# Gary Bird

> Gary Bird is the Santa Cruz-based co-founder and CEO of FortyThree, a technology public relations and digital marketing agency founded in 2005. A former San Francisco Business Times reporter, Economist correspondent and Knight Ridder Prague bureau chief, he moved into agency work before starting FortyThree. His public interviews emphasize choosing where to live, combining communications channels and creating useful material for audiences. In 2023, FortyThree announced Zen, an AI writing tool drawing on its agency archive.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at FortyThree
- **Organizations:** FortyThree, San Francisco Business Times, The Economist, Knight Ridder
- **Education:** University of California, Santa Barbara
- **Known for:** Opened a Knight Ridder bureau in Prague., Reported for The Economist., Co-founded FortyThree, established in 2005.

## Career timeline

- **Early 1990s** — Worked as a reporter at the San Francisco Business Times after attending UC Santa Barbara.
- **1990s** — Spent four years in Prague, writing for The Economist and opening a Knight Ridder bureau.
- **Before 2005** — Returned to California, entered public relations and became an agency vice president.
- **2005** — Co-founded FortyThree in Santa Cruz.
- **2015** — Discussed Santa Cruz, recruiting and short commutes in a tenth-anniversary interview.
- **2023** — FortyThree announced Zen, a generative AI tool for PR writing.
- **2026** — Listed through 43PR as the contact for an Aion Silicon engineering-leadership announcement in March.

## Achievements

- Opened a Knight Ridder bureau in Prague.
- Reported for The Economist.
- Co-founded FortyThree, established in 2005.
- Led FortyThree as it announced its Zen AI writing tool in September 2023.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Named through 43PR as the contact on Aion Silicon’s announcement appointing Allen Sansano vice president of engineering.
- **2025-09** — Named as the media contact on Aion Silicon’s announcement of participation in the TSMC OIP Ecosystem Forum.
- **2023-09** — FortyThree announced Zen, described as a GPT-4-based PR writing tool drawing on its agency archive.

## Links

- Website: https://www.43pr.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyjbird

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gary-bird
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22