# Michael Baum

> Michael Baum is an American entrepreneur, investor and software engineer who co-founded Splunk with Rob Das and Erik Swan in 2003 and served as its founding CEO. His subsequent work includes Founder.org, university founder mentoring, and ownership and leadership of Château de Pommard in Burgundy, acquired with his wife Julie Carabello in 2014.

- **Role:** CEO at Founder.org; CEO and Propriétaire at Château de Pommard
- **Organizations:** Splunk, Founder.org, The Yope Foundation, Château de Pommard, Vivant, Reality Online, Pensoft, 280 Inc., dotBank, Yahoo!, Walt Disney Internet Group, Rembrandt Venture Partners, Advent International
- **From:** Philadelphia, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BS in Computer Science, Drexel University, MBA, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Co-founded Splunk and served as its founding CEO., Splunk reached the public markets in 2012 and was acquired by Cisco in 2024 in a deal announced at approximately $28 billion., Founded Founder.org to support entrepreneurs emerging from universities.

## Career timeline

- **1984** — Launched Reality Online while studying at Drexel.
- **1985** — Graduated from Drexel University with a computer science degree.
- **1989-1992** — Founded and led Pensoft, later acquired by AT&T.
- **1996-1997** — Founded and led 280 Inc., later acquired by Infoseek.
- **1997-1999** — Served as VP of e-Commerce at Walt Disney Internet Group.
- **1999-2000** — Founded dotBank, acquired by Yahoo! in 2000.
- **2000-2001** — Served as VP of e-Commerce Services at Yahoo!.
- **2003** — Co-founded Splunk with Rob Das and Erik Swan and became founding CEO.
- **2012** — Splunk went public; Baum established Founder.org.
- **2014** — Acquired Château de Pommard with Julie Carabello.
- **2019** — Château de Pommard received AB organic certification.
- **2021** — Château de Pommard received Demeter biodynamic certification; Vivant featured in wine-industry interviews.
- **2024** — Cisco completed its acquisition of Splunk on March 18.
- **2025** — Visited university founders and spoke about the Yope Foundation.
- **2026** — Listed as CEO on the current Founder.org fellowship website.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Splunk and served as its founding CEO.
- Splunk reached the public markets in 2012 and was acquired by Cisco in 2024 in a deal announced at approximately $28 billion.
- Founded Founder.org to support entrepreneurs emerging from universities.
- Led Château de Pommard through organic and biodynamic certification milestones.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Current Founder.org site lists Baum as CEO and advertises a 2026 fellowship combining a $100,000 SAFE investment, six months of venture building and leadership coaching; observed October 22, 2026.
- **2025-09** — Château de Pommard announced Pommard by Château de Pommard, a restaurant-focused cuvée positioned to reach a new generation of consumers.
- **2025-03** — NYU’s Berkley Center reported Baum’s visit, including pitches from 14 founders and a talk about entrepreneurship and the Yope accelerator.
- **2025-01** — In his ten-year ownership letter, Baum discussed the difficult 2024 growing season and plans for wine allocations.

## Links

- Website: https://www.founder.org/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelthebaum/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/michaelbaum

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