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Express Tribune
29-04-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Mike Wood, LeapFrog founder, dies by physician-assisted suicide due to Alzheimer's diagnosis
Mike Wood, founder of the educational toy company LeapFrog Enterprises, has died by physician-assisted suicide following a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. He was 72. Wood passed away earlier this month in Switzerland, where physician-assisted suicide is legal, his brother confirmed. He was reportedly "surrounded by family" at the time of his death. According to family statements, Wood chose to end his life before the Alzheimer's disease progressed significantly, maintaining his desire for dignity and control in the face of a devastating illness. Wood, a California resident, launched LeapFrog in the mid-1990s after noticing his three-year-old son's struggles with reading. The company quickly rose to prominence with the 1999 release of the LeapPad, a groundbreaking educational device that became the best-selling toy during the 2000 holiday season. Wood stepped away from the company in 2004 but remained a respected figure in the educational technology space. LeapFrog Enterprises paid tribute to its founder in a statement posted on Instagram. "We are saddened by the loss of LeapFrog founder, Mike Wood," the company said. "His passion to find a new way to help his child learn led to something remarkable... We loved working with Mike and are honoured to continue what he started." Wood is survived by his son and three grandchildren. His death marks the passing of a visionary entrepreneur whose innovations in early childhood education technology have impacted millions of children worldwide.
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Beloved toy company founder who helped millions of kids learn to read dies by assisted suicide, leaving legacy of literacy; who is he and why did he take this step?
Mike Wood , founder of LeapFrog Enterprises , the firm that revolutionized how children learn to read, has died by physician assisted suicide at the age of 72, as per a report. Wood died on April 10 in Dignitas , a nonprofit assisted dying center in Zurich, Switzerland, in the presence of family members, The New York Times reported. Why Mike Wood Chose Physician-Assisted Suicide His brother, Tim shared that Wood was suffering from Alzheimer's and so he had decided to end his life before the disease could progress too far, according to the report. Switzerland permits assisted dying, but only if the person who's making the request is of sound mind and not driven by selfish reasons, like for money, according to Daily Mail. Clinics like Dignitas, the country's most famous clinic where hundreds of people have died in the past 20 years, has strict rules that its clients must be terminally ill, suffering extreme pain or living with an 'unendurable disability', reported Daily Mail. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like When Every Gram Matters Trek Kit India Buy Now Undo LeapFrog's Success and Growth A pioneer of children's learning, Wood's innovation has reached millions of homes, infinite classrooms, and a whole generation of readers. His foray into this industry wasn't an intentional career choice, but it was his experience as a dad, worrying for his young son, that led him to create this global toy company, as per Daily Mail. When Wood noticed that his then three-year-old son, Mat, knew the alphabet but could not pronounce the letter sounds, he was concerned that if his child lagged as a reader, he would forever struggle, as per the report. His concern about his son's learning, led him to make a prototype of an electronic toy that played sounds when children squeezed plastic letters and then he developed the Phonics Desk in 1995, according to Daily Mail. Live Events LeapFrog's success attracted investors such as Michael Milken and Oracle founder Larry Ellison, as per the report. In 1997, their education firm, Knowledge Universe, acquired a majority stake in LeapFrog for millions of dollars, investing in product development, reported Daily Mail. With this capital, Wood bought a company that assisted in developing the LeapPad, which he demanded be no more than $49 for Toys R Us customers, according to the report. Wood's Continued Impact On Children Even though the company was very successful, Wood had decided to step down from his position in the toy company in 2004 at the age of 51, as per Daily Mail. Wood then, founded and sold another reading education company, Smarty Ants , an online learning program, as per the report. Recently, he had volunteered as a reading teacher at a school near his home, where more than half of the students are classified by the state of California as socioeconomically disadvantaged, reported Daily Mail. FAQs Where did Mike Wood die? Wood died at Dignitas, a nonprofit assisted dying clinic in Zurich, Switzerland, as per a report. Why did Mike Wood choose to end his life? Wood chose to end his life before his Alzheimer's progressed further.
Daily Mail
23-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
LeapFrog founder dies by assisted suicide as he's hailed for toy creations that helped millions learn to read
The founder of an innovative toy company that taught millions of children how to read has died by physician assisted suicide. Mike Wood, the founder of LeapFrog Enterprises, was pronounced dead at Dignitas - a nonprofit organization that offers physician assisted suicide in Zurich - surrounded by his family on April 10, according to the New York Times. He was 72 years old and was suffering from Alzheimer's. He had made the decision to end his life before the condition progressed too far, his brother, Tim, told the newspaper. LeapFrog also shared news of Wood's passing, describing him as 'an innovative leader whose passion to find a new way to help children learn led to something remarkable. 'His passion was transformed into a company that has helped millions of children learn to read and so much more. 'We loved working with Mike and are honored to continue what he started,' the company said in a statement. 'We extend our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues and all who were touched by his legacy.' Wood was born on September 1, 1952 in northern California to a Michael Webster Wood, a building contractor, and Anne (Matthewson) Wood, and was raised in Orinda, east of Berkeley. He attended Miramonte High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1974. The inventor would then go on to earn a Masters of Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California Hastings Collee of the Law - now known as University of California Law San Francisco). Wood then spent several years working as an attorney. But it was his personal life that inspired him to create the global toy company. He was just a young father when he noticed that his toddler was struggling to read. Wood would later explain that his then three-year-old son, Mat, knew the alphabet but could not pronounce the letter sounds. Wood was concerned that if his child lagged as a reader, he would forever struggle - and set off to create a prototype of an electronic toy that played sounds when children squeezed plastic letters. He based the idea on greeting cards that play music when opened, and worked with engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and an education professor at Stanford to eventually develop the Phonics Desk - which was released in 1995. The success of the product attracted the attention of investors Michael R Milken and Larry Ellison - the founder of the software company Oracle. The education company they founded, Knowledge Universe, then bought a majority stake in LeapFrog in 1997 - bringing in millions of dollars to develop new products. With the extra funds, Wood acquired a company that developed the prototype of what became the LeapPad, which he insisted be sold for no more than $49 at Toys R Us stores across the US. It was a blue and green clamshell that held interactive spiral-bound storybooks. Children could then use a pointer to touch a word or an item in the story to hear it spelled or sounded aloud. The LeapPad became the best selling toy of the 2000 holiday season, and soon the company started developing other products to teach children other topics like geography and math. By 2001, the reading devices and programs were in 2,500 schools - and the following year, LeapFrog products were in nine million homes. When the company went public in January of that year with shares at $13, it soared almost 99 percent - becoming the best IPO of the year. Former colleagues of his remembered the innovator as a demanding entrepreneur who was driven by a belief that technology could help the 'LeapFrog generation' gain an educational advantage. Chris D'Angelo, Leapfrog's former executive director of entertainment, for example, described in The Bloom Report - a toy industry news site - how the employees would often joke about Wood's 'famously fluffy hair.' 'When stressed, he'd unconsciously rub his head - and the higher the hair, the higher the stakes,' D'Angelo recounted. 'We (quietly) called them "high hair days." 'It was funny, but also telling,' he continued, saying Wood 'felt everything deeply - our work, our mission, our audience.' Wood ultimately stepped down from his successful company in 2004 at the age of 51. By then, LeapFrog products were available in six languages and more than 25 countries around the world, the San Francisco Gate reported at the time. When the Wall Street Journal asked about his decision to leave LeapFrog years later, Wood explained: 'In 2003, we had 1000 employees, $650 million in revenue, $60 million in earnings and I had a headache every day. 'There would be four or five problems on my desk every day that had no good answer - you had to pick the least worst answer.' Still, Wood's entrepreneurial spirit continued - and he went on to found and sell another reading education company, Smarty Ants, an online learning program. In more recent years, Wood would volunteer as a reading teacher at a school near his home, where more than half of the students are classified by the state of California as socioeconomically disadvantaged. 'He went on eBay and bought a ton of the products he'd developed and brought them into the classrooms,' Bob Lally, cofounder of LeapFrog, told the Times. 'He'd have pizza parties for the kids. He loved going to that school and teaching the kids.' Wood is now survived by his wife, Leslie Harlander, his high school sweetheart whom he married in 2021, along with his brothers, Tim, Denis, his son, Mat, and three grandchildren.
New York Times
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Mike Wood, Whose LeapFrog Toys Taught a Generation, Dies at 72
Mike Wood was a young father when his toddler's struggles to read led him to develop one of a generation's most fondly remembered toys. Mr. Wood's 3-year-old son, Mat, knew the alphabet but couldn't pronounce the letter sounds. A lawyer in San Francisco, Mr. Wood had a new parent's anxiety that if his child lagged as a reader, he would forever struggle in life. So on his own time, Mr. Wood developed the prototype of an electronic toy that played sounds when children squeezed plastic letters. He based the idea on greeting cards that played a tune when opened. Mr. Wood went on to found LeapFrog Enterprises, which in 1999 introduced the LeapPad, a child's computer tablet that was a kind of talking book. The LeapPad was a runaway hit, the best-selling toy of the 2000 holiday season, and LeapFrog became one of the fastest-growing toy companies in history. Children of the aughts remember LeapPads — like Game Boys and Tamagotchis — as among their first electronic devices. Many from that generation recall LeapPads helping them to read. Mr. Wood, who retired from his California-based company when it had some 1,000 employees, died on April 10 in Zurich. He was 72. His brother Tim Wood said he had Alzheimer's and made the decision, before the disease progressed too far, to end his life at Dignitas, a nonprofit organization that offers physician-assisted suicide, where he was surrounded by family. He lived in Mill Valley, Calif. Former colleagues recalled Mr. Wood as a demanding entrepreneur who was driven by a true belief that technology could help what he called 'the LeapFrog generation' gain an educational leg up. He had 'famously fluffy hair,' Chris D'Angelo, LeapFrog's former executive director of entertainment, wrote of Mr. Wood on The Bloom Report, a toy industry news site. 'When stressed, he'd unconsciously rub his head — and the higher the hair, the higher the stakes. We (quietly) called them 'high-hair days.' It was funny, but also telling. He felt everything deeply — our work, our mission, our audience.' Mr. Wood's company released its first product, Phonics Desk, in 1995. A rectangular tablet that sounded out letters and words as children pressed them, it was the result of five years of tinkering as Mr. Wood consulted engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as well as an education professor at Stanford. A shift in reading pedagogy in the 1990s toward phonics — helping early readers make a connection between letters and sounds — drove interest in LeapFrog's products among parents and teachers. The company attracted the notice of two powerhouse investors: Michael R. Milken, the former 1980s junk bond king, and Larry Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle. An education company they founded, Knowledge Universe, bought a majority stake in LeapFrog in 1997. That brought in millions of dollars to develop new products. Mr. Wood, who remained president, acquired a company that developed a prototype of what became the LeapPad, and he pushed its founders to accelerate the technology so that LeapPads would retail for no more than $49 at Toys 'R' Us. The first-generation LeapPad was a rectangular clamshell computer in green and blue. Interactive spiral-bound storybooks could be inserted inside. Children used a pointer to touch a word or an item in an accompanying picture to hear it spelled or sounded aloud. By 2001, the company's reading devices and programs were in 2,500 schools, The Los Angeles Times reported, and by 2002 the LeapFrog was in nine million homes. The company's stock, offered to the public in July of that year, soared almost 99 percent. It was the best-performing I.P.O. of the year. By 2008, some 30 million LeapPads and related products were sold. Mr. Wood stepped down in 2004 at age 51. When asked why he retired, he told The Wall Street Journal: 'In 2003, we had 1,000 employees, $650 million in revenue, $60 million in earnings, and I had a headache every day. There would be four or five problems on my desk every day that had no good answer — you had to pick the least worst answer.' He went on to found and sell another reading education company, SmartyAnts, an online learning program. He then spent years as a volunteer reading teacher at a school near his home, where more than half the students are classified by the state of California as socioeconomically disadvantaged. 'He went on eBay and bought a ton of the products he'd developed and brought them into the classrooms,' Bob Lally, a co-founder of LeapFrog, said in an interview. 'He'd have pizza parties for the kids. He loved going to that school and teaching the kids.' Michael Carleton Wood was born on Sept. 1, 1952, in Willits, in Northern California, and raised in Orinda, east of Berkeley. He was one of three sons of Michael Webster Wood, a building contractor, and Anne (Mathewson) Wood. Mike graduated from Miramonte High School and earned a B.A. from Stanford University in 1974. He earned an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from University of California Hastings College of the Law (now U.C. Law San Francisco). From 1978 to 1991 he practiced corporate law at Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May (now Reed Smith) in Oakland, and from 1991 to 1994 he was a partner at Cooley Godward L.L.P. (now Cooley L.L.P.) in San Francisco. Mr. Wood's marriage in 1985 to Susan (Cotter) Wood, the mother of his only child, Mat, ended in divorce. In 2021, he married his former high school girlfriend, Leslie Harlander. In addition to his brother Tim, she survives him, along with his other brother, Denis; his son; and three grandchildren. In 2023, his daughter-in-law, Emily Wood, posted a TikTok video of Mr. Wood teaching her daughter to use a forerunner of the LeapPad. The video received 391,000 likes and thousands of comments. 'I owe him my entire childhood,' one viewer wrote. 'I spent hours on my LeapFrog with my 'Scooby-Doo' and 'Shrek' books.' 'I sell books now because of him,' another viewer wrote. 'I'm learning disabled and have a stutter,' wrote a third. 'This man helped me learn to speak.' 'I'm 25 and I loved my LeapFrog,' a fourth commented. 'Coming from an immigrant family, reading made me have so much imagination. I never stopped reading.'
