David Gurle


David Gurle is a French entrepreneur and engineer, credited as one of the pioneers of IP communications. He is currently the CEO of Symphony Communication Services, LLC.

Early life and education

The son of a French diplomat, David spent his childhood between Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. His mother, a journalist for the BBC, also worked for the British secret service. His family settled in Cannes when he was 13. He studied engineering at ESIGETEL.

Career

In 2014, David Gurle was appointed CEO of Symphony, following the acquisition of Perzo, a start-up he founded in Palo Alto, California in late 2012. Perzo was a mobile and web messaging platform that encrypted every message end-to-end using a three-layer encryption system. Perzo's security model was based on customer-controlled encryption keys for businesses who need to maintain control and confidentiality over their communications. The platform also maintained compliance with privacy laws and various regulatory rules.
Prior to Symphony, David was General Manager and Vice President of .
In 2003 as Global Head of Collaboration Services at Reuters, David and his team transitioned Reuters Messaging into a unified communications service. David connected Reuters Messaging with other communities with the intention of improving workflow productivity of financial information workers.
After joining Microsoft in 1999, David Gurle founded Microsoft's Real Time Communications business unit, running it for three years. He oversaw the development of the company’s collaboration products including NetMeeting, Windows Messenger, Exchange IM, Exchange Conferencing Server, Live Communications Server and Office Communications Server. While at Microsoft, David co-authored several Internet Engineering Task Force standards for presence and instant messaging for SIP.

Honors

In 2016, David was ranked #97 on “The New Establishment,” Vanity Fair’s “annual ranking of Silicon Valley hotshots, Hollywood moguls, Wall Street titans, and cultural icons.”

Publications

2007
2005
2004