Member Profile - Martin Rothenberg

64 years old; resident of Syracuse, New York Founder and former CEO of Syracuse Language Systems, Syracuse, NY Has run six marathons; met his wife Yvonne seven years ago while running

Martin Rothenberg was raised in Brooklyn, NY. His father was a house painter with a limited ability to read and write English, and his mother worked to make ends meet as a sewing machine operator and sales clerk. He got a good public school education and was a frequent visitor at the public library. After two years in the US Army, including 14 months in Korea, he went to college on the GI Bill. He obtained his graduate degrees with the help of a government-backed NDEA Fellowship.

Martin went on to teach electrical and computer engineering at Syracuse University from 1966 to 1990, where he directed the Speech Research Laboratory and received numerous government grants to support his research. Talking late one night with graduate students over coffee, he got the idea to start a software company which would produce multimedia language learning instruction through CD-ROMS. In 1990 Martin joined with some of his graduate students and his son Larry to start Syracuse Language Systems, which eventually employed 130 people and won industry awards for its products. Martin recently sold his company to Cendant, Inc., though he has stayed on as a consultant and his son has taken over the company under Cendant.

"That experience in growing a company gave me a hard look at the corporate world," Martin says. "I learned that the pressures to protect the bottom line were far greater than I had imagined. They limit the power of even the top executive to make policy changes."

Martin is currently campaign manager for his wife, Yvonne Tasker-Rothenberg, who is running for Congress on a platform emphasizing campaign finance reform, corporate responsibility, and education as an investment, not an expense.

It wasn't difficult for Martin to sign the RW Tax Pledge, and he also believes there should be a wealth tax in the US. He reflects on the way wealthy Americans perceive their wealth as something they own rather than something loaned to them by society. "Society has made an investment in me," Martin says. "And it's my turn to give some back."

Responsible Wealth, 29 Winter Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02108.
Voice: 617/423-2148 Fax: 617/423-0191.
© 1999, 2000 Responsible Wealth. All rights reserved.