Open Source Go-To-Market Success: Liferay CEO Bryan Cheung (Part 1)

Bryan Cheung is the CEO and co-founder of Liferay. Drawing on his technical experience, understanding of customer needs, and a passion for end users, Bryan leads Liferay in meeting its commitment to deliver focused and effective business solutions to its customers and its community. He graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, and is a frequent keynote speaker at industry events such as JavaOne, JAX Asia and Europe, and Open Source Meets Business.

Sramana: Let’s go back to the beginning of your story. Where do you come from?

Bryan Cheung: I was born in Los Angeles in 1977. I have lived in California pretty much all my life. I went to school in Southern California. When it came time to go to college, I was choosing between Berkeley and UCLA and my parents told me that Berkeley was a great school and would give me a lot of opportunities, so I took their advice and went there.

I explored a lot of different fields. My personal leanings are on the humanities side, but I always did well in math and science classes. Berkeley was well known for its computer science program, and I ended up majoring in computer science because I felt it was more practical when it came to career options. There was also an intellectual interest that it provided in terms of coming up with elegant solutions to different problems, whereas humanities often came down to two people’s differing opinions.