Bruce Bastian

Bruce Wayne Bastian (born March 23, 1948) is an American computer programmer and businessperson.

Bastian was born on March 23, 1948, in Twin Falls, Idaho.

He attended college at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, where he initially majored in music.

While serving as the director of the BYU Cougar Marching Band, Bastian developed a software program to help choreograph marching band performances with the help of instructor Alan Ashton.

After leaving his position with the marching band, Bastian earned a master's degree in computer science.

Bastian briefly worked for Ashton and another partner, developing word processing software.

Bastian later worked for the Eyring Research Institute (ERI), where he briefly worked on a language translation program.

Soon after Bastian became employed at ERI, the company signed a contract with Orem City, Utah, to create a word processor for the city's new DEC PDP-11/34 mini computer.

Since Bastian was the only employee at ERI who had a development experience with word processing, the company contracted with Bastian and Ashton to develop the software, which later became WordPerfect.

He co-founded the WordPerfect Software Company (originally known as Satellite Software International) with Alan Ashton in 1978.

In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed Bastian to the Presidential Advisory Committee of the Arts in honor of Bastian's long-term commitment to the arts.