Adobe Co-Founder John Warnock, Who Helped Invent PDFs, Dead at 82

"John's brilliance and technology innovations changed the world," the company's CEO said in a statement

John Warnock, the co-founder of Adobe Systems who helped invent the PDF, has died, the tech company announced Sunday. He was 82.

"It is with profound sadness that I share that our beloved co-founder Dr. John Warnock passed away at the age of 82," Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said in an email to all employees. "John's brilliance and technology innovations changed the world. It is a sad day for the Adobe community and the industry for which he has been an inspiration for decades."

Related: Mark Cuban Passed On Early Investment in Uber That He Says Is Worth Billions Today: ‘Whoops’

He died Saturday surrounded by family, the company said. Adobe did not disclose his cause of death.

The entrepreneur co-founded Adobe in 1982 with Dr. Charles Geschke after the duo met as colleagues at Xerox. He would go on to invent Adobe PostScript, which the company said was "groundbreaking technology that sparked the desktop publishing revolution." Warnock retired in 2000 and co-chaired the company board with Geschke until 2017.

Related: PEOPLE's 100 Companies that Care 2022: Meet the Employers Putting Their Communities First

"His vision and passion enabled Adobe to deliver groundbreaking innovations such as Illustrator, the ubiquitous PDF file format and Acrobat, Photoshop and Premiere Pro, defining the desktop era and unleashing creativity and opportunity for millions of people," Narayen added, calling his interactions with Warnock "the highlight of my professional career."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"While he was my role model and mentor, I am most grateful to count him as a friend," the CEO added.

For his achievements, President Barack Obama awarded Warnock with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2009. He also received the Computer Entrepreneur Award from the IEEE Computer Society, the American Electronics Association Medal of Achievement and the Marconi Prize for contributions to information science and communications.

Related: A Decade After Becoming Apple's CEO, Tim Cook Says He Never Felt He Had to Fill Steve Jobs' Shoes

"While the impact that his innovations have had are countless, it is his indomitable spirit, passion and belief in building a company with strong values that has impacted all of us who have had the good fortune of working at Adobe," Narayen said.

He is survived by his wife, Marva Warnock, and his three children, Adobe said.

"My thoughts are with Marva and his entire family," Narayen continued. "There is nothing he would like more than to continue his amazing legacy so let's continue to make him proud."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.