Mal Gurian was at the forefront of the wireless industry when cellular was at its infancy. Born and raised in New York City, he served in WWII in the Pacific as a photographer. After the war photography was his first career, and through this he crossed paths with the 2-way radio business. First hired at Radio Telephone Corporation in 1960, he then became Senior VP at Aerotron Inc., a 2-way radio manufacturer. Over the years Mal made many friends and connections in the industry.
In 1981 Mal was hired by Oki Electric Industry Company of Japan to build US operations from the ground up, and was named CEO of Oki Advanced Communications. In the 1970s Oki had already been working on cellular development with engineers from Bell Laboratories. The first Oki cellular telephone weighed 80+ lbs. and went into the trunk of a car. The control unit resembled an old wireline phone and was installed by the driver seat. The famous first call Bob Barnett made from Soldier Field in Chicago on October 13, 1983 was made on an Oki CS-1 phone, installed in a convertible car’s trunk, and weighed only 18 lbs.
Mal’s work in building a strong management team, supporting the product and its services was key to his success. He had a strong relationship with AT&T and with the Baby Bells. Oki phones won praise from Illinois Bell and Bell Labs, with hardly a breakdown. The Oki Model CS-1 was submitted to FCC laboratory in Beltsville, MD for type certification, with Mal personally delivering the product. It passed on the first try and manufacturing began immediately. Oki was first with a commercial cellular telephone for sale to the public. After the Oki robotics manufacturing plant was built in Norcross, GA in 1985, Oki phones were provided from a US plant to the consumer.
After retiring from Oki Telecom, Mal served as president of Cellcom Cellular, CEO of GlobalLink Communications, and CEO of Universal Cellular Corp. For many years he was actively involved in the Radio Club of America and as President Emeritus since 1994. He was Co-founder and Chairman of Authentic Network and president of SimplySay, a voice recognition company. Mal has received numerous awards including: the Sarnoff Citation, Popov Scientific Society Medal, the NABER Chairman’s Award, and the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.