Microsoft Corp.

Steven A. Ballmer is Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corporation, the world's leading manufacturer of software for personal and business computing. Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 and was the first business manager hired by Bill Gates. Since then, Ballmer's leadership and passion have become hallmarks of his tenure at the company. Ballmer and the company's business and technical leaders are focused on continuing Microsoft's innovation and leadership across the company's core businesses. Microsoft's goal is to provide an integrated platform to enable a seamless experience across a wide range of computing and non-PC devices and services. Variously described as ebullient, focused, funny, passionate, sincere, hard-charging and dynamic, Ballmer has infused Microsoft with his own brand of energetic leadership, vision and spirit over the years. Ballmer was born in March 1956, and grew up near Detroit, where his father worked as a manager at Ford Motor Co. He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics. While in college, Ballmer managed the football team, worked on the Harvard Crimson newspaper as well as the university literary magazine, and lived down the hall from fellow sophomore Bill Gates. After college, he worked for two years at Procter & Gamble Co. as an assistant product manager and, before joining Microsoft, attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Simon Leung joined Microsoft in November 2008 as Corporate Vice President, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Greater China Region (GCR). In this role, Simon is responsible for overseeing overall business operations and for developing and implementing a regional strategy for Microsoft. He works to drive the "One Microsoft" initiative to optimize the company's businesses and investments in the region, and to ensure that the organization is built for long-term growth and success. Leung has more than two decades of industry experience in multinational companies in the Asia Pacific region. Before joining Microsoft, Simon held executive roles at Motorola, Inc., including President, Asia Pacific, and Senior Vice President & General Manager, Asia Pacific, Networks & Enterprises. While with Motorola, he was responsible for corporate governance in the Asia Pacific region and overall business operations for its Networks & Enterprises business. He chaired Motorola China Electronics Limited, leading Motorola's overall China strategy and business operations. A seasoned veteran in both the IT and telecommunications industries, Leung has held numerous senior positions, including: President for Asia Pacific, Brightpoint Inc., a NASDAQ listed company specializing in value-added services for the wireless telecommunications industry from 1997 to 1999; Vice President of the Asia Pacific Region for Tandem Computer from 1992 to 1996; Managing Director for Hong Kong and mainland China region for Electronic Data Systems in 1992; Managing Director for Hong Kong and mainland China for Stratus Computers from 1989; and Marketing Director for Wang Computers from 1986. In these various roles, he oversaw marketing, sales, customer service, channel management, and key account relationships. Leung was born in Macau, China, and educated in Hong Kong and Canada. He has a Bachelor of Science and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and a Business Administration and Management Doctorate from Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Bob Muglia is president of the Server and Tools Business (STB) at Microsoft. STB is chartered to deliver on Dynamic IT, Microsoft's initiative focused on helping customers deliver technology innovation that helps IT pros and developers create highly-optimized and agile infrastructures that continuously align to changing business needs. As STB business leader, Muglia is responsible for developing and marketing Microsoft's infrastructure and developer software. This integrated set of products provides the foundation for IT operations, security, application development and integration. The infrastructure and developer software portfolio includes Microsoft Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio, Virtualization products, System Center management products and the Forefront line of business security products, among others. Muglia is a member of Microsoft's Senior Leadership Team that is responsible for shaping the company's business and technology strategy. Before he was named president of STB in January 2009, Muglia was senior vice president for the business group. Since joining Microsoft in January 1988, Muglia has served in a variety of positions, including managing the development of the MSN network of Internet services and Microsoft Office family of business productivity applications, Windows Server applications, and productivity appliances such as Pocket PCs, eBooks and Tablet PCs. In addition, Muglia helped to bring together the Visual Studio family of developer tools and drove the Win32 API, customer requirements and product specification for the Microsoft Windows NT operating system. Before joining Microsoft, Muglia was a development manager at ROLM Co. He holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Michigan.

Jean-Philippe Courtois leads global sales, marketing and services for Microsoft International, a territory that spans 100 subsidiaries operating in over 240 countries outside the United States and Canada. As president of Microsoft International, Courtois drives strategic planning, global operations and key growth initiatives in developed and emerging markets. His responsibilities also include Microsoft's worldwide public sector and communication sector businesses, which deliver strategic, high-value solutions to governments and telecommunications companies around the world. As a global technology leader, Microsoft is dedicated to serving citizens, businesses and communities around the world. The company's innovative technologies and local partnerships are transforming education, fostering local innovation and creating employment opportunities that help fuel a continuous cycle of sustained social and economic development. Courtois' leadership reflects these values and his deep personal commitment to customer and partner satisfaction, which results from long-term and trust-based relationships. Courtois previously served as CEO and president of Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), where he led business planning and sales, marketing and services. Among his many notable accomplishments, significant improvements in customer satisfaction, enhanced regional integration and record sales growth stand out. Before his role in EMEA, Courtois was vice president of worldwide customer marketing, based out of Microsoft's U.S. headquarters in Redmond, Wash. Courtois joined Microsoft in 1984 as a channel sales representative, and after holding several leadership positions rose to general manager for Microsoft France in 1994. Outside of Microsoft, Courtois is administrator for PlaNet Finance and Microsoft's official representative at the Institut Montaigne. He has served as co-chairman of the World Economic Forum's Global Digital Divide Initiative Task Force and on the European Commission Information and Communication Technology task force. A French national, Courtois obtained his diplôme des études commerciales supérieures (DECS) from the Ecole Superieure de Commerce, Nice (CERAM).

As president of Microsoft's Online Services Division (OSD), Dr. Qi Lu leads the company's search and online advertising efforts and also oversees all of its online information and communications services. Dr. Lu oversees the OSD Research & Development team which has responsibility for the evolution of Microsoft's search, portal and advertising services; the Online Audience Business Group; and the Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Business Group. Dr. Lu reports to Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer. Prior to joining Microsoft, Dr. Lu spent 10 years as a Yahoo! senior executive. His roles included serving as the executive vice president of engineering for the company's Search and Advertising Technology Group where he oversaw the development of Yahoo!'s Web search and monetization platforms and vice president of engineering responsible for the technology development of Yahoo!'s search, e-commerce and local listings of businesses and products. Before joining Yahoo!, Dr. Lu worked as a research staff member at IBM's Almaden Research Center and Carnegie Mellon University and was a faculty member at Fudan University in China. He received his bachelor of science and master of science in computer science from Fudan University and his Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Lu holds 20 U.S. patents.

As president of the Entertainment & Devices (E&D) Division at Microsoft Corp., Robbie Bach drives the company's Connected Entertainment vision, offering consumers new and compelling, branded entertainment experiences across music, gaming, video and mobile communications. Bach's responsibilities include guiding software, services and hardware innovation throughout Microsoft's entertainment and mobility platforms, and bringing those solutions to market with retailers and partners. Bach also manages Microsoft's worldwide retail relationships as well as media and entertainment partner relationships. The E&D Division is composed of five main businesses: the Interactive Entertainment Business, home to the Xbox and Games for Windows gaming platforms; the Mobile Communications Business, which develops and markets Windows Mobile software, services and applications; the TV, Video and Music Business, comprised of Microsoft Mediaroom, Windows Media Center and Zune software and services; and the Specialized Devices and Applications Business, which includes the Hardware Group, Microsoft Surface, Office for Mac, Microsoft Auto and Windows Embedded software. Since joining Microsoft in 1988, Bach has worked on a variety of Microsoft products in a career marked by increasingly senior management positions. His experience includes a period in Europe as the manager of Business Operations from 1990 to 1992. He also led the marketing effort for Microsoft Office from 1992 to 1997. Before the formation of the E&D Division in 2005, Bach managed the global launches of Xbox and Xbox 360 in his dual role as chief Xbox officer and head of the Home and Entertainment Group - a global division that was responsible for Xbox, Games for Windows, the Microsoft TV platform, and consumer hardware and software products. Beginning in 2009, Bach will serve a two-year term as chairman of the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, where he has been a driving force for the organization's efforts to bring technology skills to every Club member, while making online safety a top priority. Bach also serves on the board of the Entertainment Software Association Foundation, following a one-year term as chairman from 2007 to 2008. Before joining Microsoft, Bach worked as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley & Co. He has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from Stanford University. He is married with three children.

As president of the Microsoft Business Division, Stephen Elop oversees the Information Worker, Microsoft Business Solutions and Unified Communications Groups. This division is responsible for the Microsoft Office system of programs, servers and software-based services, Microsoft Dynamics, business applications for small and midsize businesses, large organizations and divisions of global enterprises and Microsoft's Unified Communications, products that provide complete software-based communications tools to business. Elop joined Microsoft in January, 2008 and is a member of the company's senior leadership team that sets overall strategy and direction for Microsoft. Before joining Microsoft, Elop was Chief Operating Officer for Juniper Networks, a leading provider of high-performance network infrastructure and a valued Microsoft partner. As COO, Elop was responsible for all the company's product groups, corporate development, global sales and service and marketing and manufacturing organizations. Prior to Juniper, Elop served as president of worldwide field operations at Adobe Systems Inc., where he was responsible for Adobe's global sales organization and all customer-facing functions. Elop joined Adobe following the 2005 acquisition of Macromedia Inc., where he was president and CEO. During his seven-year tenure at Macromedia, Elop held many senior positions, including COO, executive vice president of worldwide field operations and general manager of the company's eBusiness division. Earlier in his career, he served in a number of executive positions, including chief information officer. Elop earned a bachelor's degree in computer engineering and management from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

As corporate vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of the Sales, Marketing and Services Group (SMSG) at Microsoft, Alain Crozier is responsible for the financial leadership of SMSG's worldwide organization of 46,000 employees located in over 100 countries, which includes overseeing financial and strategic planning, reporting and analysis, controls and compliance, and financial and business performance management. Since joining Microsoft in 1994, Crozier has held a variety of financial leadership roles in the Sales, Marketing and Services organization including Finance & Administration Director of the France subsidiary, Regional Controller for the Americas and South Pacific region, and Worldwide Sales Controller before being promoted to SMSG CFO. Prior to joining Microsoft, Crozier was finance, planning & analysis manager at Lesieur Alimentaire, a subsidiary of Eridania Beghin Say in Paris. He also held several audit and finance positions within Lesieur Alimentaire as well. Crozier started his career at Peat Marwick Consultants in Paris where he specialized in planning process design, functional reorganizations and process reengineering. Crozier graduated from University Claude Bernard with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and social sciences, and from the Institut Superieur de Gestion in Paris with a Business Administration degree. Crozier is married and has twins. In his spare time, he enjoys photography, traveling with his family, skiing, soccer and discovering new wines from around the world.

As Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Turner is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of Microsoft's worldwide sales, marketing and services organization. Turner leads a global organization of over 46,000 employees, including field sales and marketing professionals who delivered over US$53 billion in revenue during fiscal 2008. In addition to driving sales and marketing programs, Turner manages corporate support organizations, including product and customer support services, branding, advertising, public relations, marketing research, relationship marketing and Turner also oversees corporate operations and internal Information Technology that support the work of Microsoft's over 90,000 plus employees around the world. Along with Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer and other senior executives, Turner serves on the Senior Leadership Team that sets the overall strategy and direction for Microsoft. Prior to Microsoft, Turner worked nearly 20 years at Wal-Mart Stores Inc., where he started as a cashier while going to college. Upon graduating from college he held various leadership positions within Wal-Mart including most recently as president and chief executive officer of SAM'S CLUB, with over 46 million members and over $37.1 billion in annual sales. Before this role, Turner worked 13 years in the IT department where achieved the level of executive vice president and chief information officer for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., in which he oversaw all information systems and IT operations for the company worldwide. In 1995 at the age of 29, Turner became the youngest corporate officer ever named at Wal-Mart and in 1997 while having worldwide responsibility for all Application Development and Support at Wal-Mart, Turner became the recipient of the first "Sam M. Walton - Entrepreneur Of The Year" Award, which is the highest honor given at Wal-Mart and is voted on the Walton Family. Turner has also received various selected honors including; TIME Magazine - People To Watch In International Business; FORTUNE Magazine - #4 Top 10 Most Influential on 40 Under 40; Business 2.0 - The 20 Young Exec's You Need To Know; 20/20 Vision Award; CIO 100 Award; and in 2007, he was named to the CIO Hall Of Fame by CIO Magazine, as well as listed fifth on CRN Magazine's Top 25 Most Innovative Executives. Turner graduated in 1987 from East Central University in Ada, Okla., with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management where he was also the Distinguished Alumnus in 2003. Turner lives in Hunts Point WA., with his wife and three children.

Brad Smith is Microsoft's Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. He leads the company's Department of Legal and Corporate Affairs, which is responsible for all legal work and for government, industry and community affairs activities. Smith has played a leading role at Microsoft on intellectual property, competition law, and other Internet legal and public policy issues. He is also the company's chief compliance officer. Since becoming general counsel in 2002, he has overseen numerous negotiations with governments and other companies, including Microsoft's 2002 antitrust settlement with state attorneys general, its 2002 data privacy negotiations with the Federal Trade Commission and European Commission, and agreements to address antitrust or IP issues with Time Warner, Sun Microsystems, RealNetworks, IBM and Novell. Smith is responsible for Microsoft's intellectual property work, including all of its IP portfolio, licensing and public policy activities. He has helped spearhead the growth in the company's patent portfolio and the launch of global campaigns to bring enforcement actions against those engaged in software piracy and counterfeiting and against viruses, spyware and other threats to Internet safety. He is also responsible for the expansion of Microsoft's citizenship and philanthropic activities, work to revise its contracts to make them more customer-friendly, and the strengthening of legal compliance programs, issuing Standards of Business Conduct for all Microsoft employees and creating an Office of Legal Compliance. Smith previously worked for five years as Deputy General Counsel for Worldwide Sales, and before that, he spent three years managing the company's European Law and Corporate Affairs group, based in Paris. Before joining Microsoft, he was a partner at Covington & Burling, having worked in the firm's Washington, D.C. and London offices and represented a number of companies in the computing industry. Smith graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University, where he received the Class of 1901 Medal, the Dewitt Clinton Poole Memorial Prize, and the Harold Willis Dodds Achievement Award, the highest award given to a graduating senior at commencement. He was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar at the Columbia University School of Law, where he received the David M. Berger Memorial Award. He also studied international law and economics at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. He has written numerous articles regarding international intellectual property and electronic commerce issues, and has served as a lecturer at the Hague Academy of International Law.

As Chief Financial Officer, Christopher Liddell is responsible for leading Microsoft Corp.'s worldwide finance organization which includes overseeing acquisitions, corporate strategy, treasury activities, tax planning, accounting and reporting, internal audit and investor relations. Before joining Microsoft, Liddell was CFO at International Paper Co., the world's largest forest products company, with similar responsibilities. Prior to that, he was Chief Executive Officer of Carter Holt Harvey Ltd., then New Zealand's second-largest listed company. He also has worked as an investment banker as Managing Director and joint CEO for CS First Boston NZ Ltd. Liddell holds an Engineering Degree with honors from the University of Auckland, New Zealand and a Master of Philosophy degree from Oxford University in England. He has served as director of the New Zealand Rugby Union, governor of the New Zealand Sports Foundation and chairman of Project Crimson, one of New Zealand's leading environmental protection groups. He is a distinguished alumnus of the University of Auckland. Liddell is a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting. Liddell and his wife, Bridget, have two sons. He is an avid sportsman who has completed a number of triathlons including an Ironman and also enjoys rugby, golf and tennis.

Craig Mundie is chief research and strategy officer of Microsoft Corp., reporting to CEO Steve Ballmer. Mundie is responsible for directing the company's technical strategy and long-term investments. In this role, he oversees Microsoft Research and other technology and research initiatives, the company's health and education businesses, and a number of technology incubations. Mundie also works with government and business leaders around the world on technology policy, regulation and standards. Mundie previously served as Microsoft's chief technical officer for advanced strategies and policy. In that role, he worked with Chairman Bill Gates to develop Microsoft's global strategies around technical, business and policy issues. Mundie joined Microsoft in 1992 to create and run the Consumer Platforms Division, which developed non-PC platforms such as the Windows CE operating system; software for the Handheld PC, Pocket PC and Auto PC; and early console-gaming products. Mundie also started Microsoft's digital TV efforts, acquiring and managing its WebTV Networks Inc. subsidiary. He championed the Trustworthy Computing tenet, which has significantly improved the security of Microsoft's products by using new software development practices. In April 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Mundie to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which advises the administration on technology, scientific research priorities, and math and science education. Since August 2000, he has also served on the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, advising White House staff on issues affecting the security of the nation's telecommunications infrastructure. In April 2002, Mundie joined the Task Force on National Security in the Information Age to help develop a strategy for using technology to address new security challenges. Since February 2002, Mundie has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing America's understanding of the world and contributing ideas to U.S. foreign policy. Mundie started his career in 1970, working on operating-system development for the Data General NOVA at Systems Equipment Corp. (SEC) while still studying at Georgia Tech. SEC was subsequently acquired by Data General Corp., where Mundie went on to develop the INFOS data-management system. In 1977 Mundie moved to Data General's advanced development facility in Research Triangle Park, N.C., ultimately becoming its director. In 1982, Mundie was one of three co-founders of Alliant Computer Systems Corp., which developed vector-parallel mini-supercomputers. He held a variety of positions at Alliant before becoming CEO. The company shut down in 1992. Mundie holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's degree in information theory and computer science from Georgia Tech. Mundie enjoys traveling and spending time on his boat. He is married, with one married daughter.

David Vaskevitch's career as visionary software architect, business innovator and author spans more than 30 years. As senior vice president, chief technical officer for Business Platform at Microsoft, Vaskevitch reports to Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie, working with him to develop a focused and unified strategy and architecture for future Microsoft platforms. Prior to this role, Vaskevitch was senior vice president of the Business Applications Division, responsible for driving Microsoft's entry into the small- and medium-size business software market through the creation of new software that changes the way businesses operate. As a central part of that strategy, Vaskevitch championed the acquisition of Great Plains Software Inc. in December 2000. Vaskevitch joined Microsoft in 1986 as its first director of U.S. marketing, and applied business planning and market research techniques to revamp distribution, sales and broad-based channel marketing strategies. His four-year tenure in that position culminated in the launch of the popular Microsoft Windows 3.0 operating system and Microsoft Office products. Vaskevitch went from U.S. marketing to propose and found Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) to help enterprise customers transition their businesses to client/server computing. He served as chief technologist at MCS for two years. In 1993 Vaskevitch became general manager of enterprise computing, undertaking the broad mission of defining an enterprise architecture and a 10-year road map for Microsoft and its enterprise partners. Vaskevitch built the teams that developed Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Transaction Services (MTS), AppCenter Server and Microsoft .NET Platform and drove the evolution of Microsoft's COM+ and Windows DNA initiatives. Vaskevitch served as the chief architect for Microsoft from 1998 to 1999, while driving the definition and release of the first iteration of Windows DNA, before moving to the helm of the new Microsoft Business Applications Division. Before joining Microsoft, Vaskevitch started up the software division of 3Com Corp., planning and building the business for EtherMail and other software products. Vaskevitch began his career as a young entrepreneur, launching business planning and software ventures before the age of 30. The first, PlanDesign, was a Toronto-based strategic planning consultancy advising Canada's largest corporations on business processes and change management (later known as business process re-engineering). The second, Standard Software, was one of the earliest venture-capital-funded software companies in North America. Vaskevitch designed and marketed its TP monitoring product to Fortune 500 companies. Vaskevitch is the author of Client/Server Strategies: A Survival Guide for Corporate Re-engineers, published in 1993 by IDG Books Worldwide. The book explains client/server computing to general audiences, demystifying the technical, business and cultural forces driving the distributed computing trend. Vaskevitch holds bachelors of science degrees in math, computer science and philosophy, and a masters degree in computer science from the University of Toronto. While at the university in the 1970s, he invented a typewriter-terminal-based communications messaging network that predated PC-based e-mail systems by a decade. Outside of his work life, Vaskevitch is an accomplished digital photographer and competitive horseman, and enjoys spending time with his son and two daughters.

Frank H. Brod is corporate vice president, Finance and Administration, and Chief Accounting Officer at Microsoft Corp. In addition to his role as chief accounting officer, Brod is responsible for the corporate controller functions, corporate financial planning and analysis, corporate services, and venture integration. Before joining Microsoft, Brod served as Corporate Vice President and Controller of The Dow Chemical Company, where he was responsible for all of Dow's global accounting activities, including compliance and controls, financial reporting, accounting transactional work processes and financial information systems, as well as financial standards, planning and financial support to Dow's global businesses. Brod is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation, the governing body over US Accounting Standards setting, including the Financial Accounting Standards Board. He also participates on the Standards Advisory Group of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and is a member of the Standards Advisory Council of the International Accounting Standard Board. Brod has also been appointed to the Governors Council of Economic Advisors for the State of Washington. Brod holds a bachelor's degree in industrial management from Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a Certified Public Accountant and has been a recipient of the Sells Award of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Allred Award from the Texas Society of CPAs for professional excellence.

As Chief Experience Officer (CXO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), J Allard is responsible for the technical architecture and user experiences related to products and services of the Entertainment and Devices (E&D) division. Allard works closely with technical leaders across the company to align E&D product teams with Microsoft's overall services strategy and product architecture, and drives the technical and design agenda to deliver Connected Entertainment experiences for consumers. With a unified approach and his personal passion for the possibilities of digital entertainment, Allard manages the E&D design group and also oversees an incubation team that scouts new opportunities for the division. A 15-year veteran of Microsoft, Allard previously managed the technical development of the Xbox game console and Zune media player, and launched the Zune portable entertainment devices and services business. Allard helped shape the company's Internet strategy, has shipped over 30 products at Microsoft and was a founding member of the Xbox, Windows NT and TCP/IP product families. Allard holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from Boston University and was recognized in 2003 as a Distinguished Alumnus, the highest honor the university confers on its alumni. Allard has been named to several leadership and influentials lists, including The Hollywood Reporter's "Top 35 Entertainment Execs Under 35" and Details' list of "Most Powerful Men Under 38," and is a member of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader program.

Ray Ozzie, an industry visionary and pioneer in computer-supported cooperative work, is Microsoft's chief software architect. Ozzie assumed the chief software architect's role in June 2006, when Chairman Bill Gates announced his intent to relinquish his Microsoft day-to-day responsibilities in July 2008. In his role as CSA Ozzie is responsible for oversight of the company's technical strategy and product architecture. Ozzie is also directing development of the company's next-generation software services platform. Previously, Ozzie was chief technical officer from April 2005 to June 2006. He assumed that role in April 2005 after Microsoft acquired Groove Networks, a next-generation collaboration software company he formed in 1997. Prior to Groove, Ozzie was a founder and president of Iris Associates, where he created and led the development of Lotus Notes. Before Iris, he contributed to the development of Lotus Symphony and Software Arts' TK!Solver and VisiCalc, and was involved in early distributed operating systems development at Data General Corp. Ozzie earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he was first exposed to the nature and significance of collaborative systems and computer-supported cooperative work while working on the university's seminal PLATO project. This work significantly influenced his perspective on collaborative systems and the projects he has undertaken throughout his career. He's subsequently been honored as one of the school's distinguished alumnus. Honored as one of seven "Windows Pioneers" by Microsoft, Ozzie was named "Person of the Year" in 1995 by PC Magazine, and has been inducted into the Computer Museum Industry Hall of Fame and the InfoWorld Hall of Fame. In November 2000, he received the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society's W. Wallace McDowell Award, and in 2001 he was honored as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. He has served as a member of the National Research Council's Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, and was a member of the NRC committee that produced the landmark CRISIS report on the societal impact of cryptography.

Tony Scott joined Microsoft Corp. in February 2008 as corporate vice president and chief information officer (CIO). Under Scott's leadership, Microsoft IT is responsible for security, infrastructure, messaging and business applications for all of Microsoft, including support of the product groups, the corporate business groups, and the global sales and marketing organization. Scott champions IT as a value-added business for Microsoft and works with all the company's groups to identify opportunities, structure IT solutions and deliver measurable returns to the business. Scott is also the executive sponsor for Microsoft's Operational Enterprise Risk Management efforts and supports the integration of management principles from the Quality & Business Excellence team, which drive continuous and breakthrough process improvements across the company. Scott helps ensure that Microsoft is the "first and best customer" of its own products. In addition to maintaining a globally integrated set of enterprise IT platforms built on Microsoft technology, his team deploys prerelease versions of Microsoft products throughout the company. The direction and feedback his team provides to Microsoft developers help them enhance products before their commercial release. Scott's "first and best customer" initiatives help identify and capture new market opportunities while co-developing innovations to software plus services. Scott and his teams also share their IT expertise with customers (via IT Showcase), providing them with firsthand insights on product deployments and the value of Microsoft technologies and services. Before joining Microsoft, Scott was the senior vice president and chief information officer for The Walt Disney Co., where he led planning, implementation and operations of Disney IT systems and infrastructure across the company. He also held the position of chief technology officer, Information Systems and Services, at General Motors Corp. (GM), where he was responsible for defining the information technology computing and telecommunications strategy, architecture, and standards across all of GM's businesses globally. As vice president of Information Services at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Scott led the transformation of its technology infrastructure organization to a shared services model and the development of a corporate infrastructure to support implementation of SAP- and Web-based technologies. Scott's professional experience has also included assignments at Marriott International Inc., Cadren Systems, Sun Microsystems Inc. and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Scott has a bachelor of science in information systems management from the University of San Francisco and also holds a juris doctorate with a concentration in intellectual property and international law from Santa Clara University.

Andrew Lees serves as senior vice president of Microsoft's Mobile Communication Business, which includes Windows Mobile software and Live mobile services. His responsibilities include guiding Microsoft's global mobile communications strategy for business and consumer customers. In that role, Lees oversees the development, marketing and sales of Microsoft software and services for mobile devices worldwide. Prior to his current role, Lees served as corporate vice president, Microsoft Server & Tools Marketing and Solutions Group. In that role, he provided worldwide business leadership for the Server & Tools business and was responsible for all elements of the marketing mix to maximize customer and partner satisfaction and business success. Additionally, Lees was responsible for a further set of Microsoft assets, including Microsoft Learning, Microsoft.com, MSDN and TechNet businesses. Prior to joining the Server and Tools group, Lees held a variety of different roles within Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Services Group, including Worldwide Marketing and US Sales, Marketing and Services. Lees joined Microsoft in 1990 and spent 10 years in the Microsoft United Kingdom subsidiary. During his tenure at Microsoft U.K., he gained increasing responsibility for sales and marketing within the subsidiary's territory. Before joining Microsoft, Lees worked in the U.K. subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard Co. for three years in technical consulting and marketing roles. Lees earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Bradford in England. He is married with two children. In his free time, he enjoys traveling around the world and visiting family and friends.

As senior vice president of the Office Productivity Applications Group at Microsoft, Antoine Leblond is responsible for overseeing the design, development and testing of the Microsoft Office suite of productivity applications and services. In this role he guides the group's efforts to fulfill Microsoft's vision for enhancing information worker productivity. Since joining Microsoft as a software design engineer in 1989, Leblond has worked on the design and development of many components of the Microsoft Office system, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook. He led the development efforts for Microsoft Word 97 and Word 2000, and from 1998 to 2002 served as director of Office development, during which time he oversaw the technical design innovation strategy of the Microsoft Office core suite. In this role, he also coordinated the Office application and shared technology development teams through the product delivery cycle. In 2000, Leblond received the title of Distinguished Engineer in recognition of his technical contributions to the success of Microsoft. From 2002 to 2006, he served as corporate vice president of Office Program Management, overseeing the planning and design activities for future versions of the system. A native of Quebec City, Canada, Leblond holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from McGill University in Montreal. He, his wife Lucie, and their two daughters live in Seattle.

Chris Capossela is senior vice president of the Microsoft Information Worker Product Management Group. He manages the Microsoft Office System of products, which includes desktop applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, InfoPath, Groove, OneNote, Project and Visio, server products such as Office SharePoint Server, Exchange Server, Office Communication Server and Project Server, and hosted software services such as Office Live, Office Live Meeting and Office Online – all of which deliver end-user productivity and companywide unified communications and collaboration, business intelligence and enterprise content management capabilities. Capossela is responsible for worldwide product and business management for the Office System. This includes defining pricing, packaging, go-to-markets, branding and advertising, as well as developing sales integration and the partner ecosystem around the world. Capossela has spent more than 15 years at Microsoft in a variety of marketing, technical and field positions. Previously, Capossela was general manager of the Microsoft Project business unit, where he was responsible for the development of Microsoft Project. Capossela also has served as chief of staff for the president of Microsoft's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, which is composed of 38 Microsoft subsidiaries and has its headquarters in Paris. For more than two years Capossela served as speech assistant for Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. During that time Capossela worked closely with Gates, crafting material for more than 350 speeches and presentations. His experience with Gates taught him to think big and to never miss an opportunity to learn something new. Early in his career at the software company, Capossela worked as a product manager for Microsoft Visual FoxPro and Access; he spent three years as a program manager for Access, the company's database management program and a key product in the Microsoft Office System. While a member of the Access team in 1997, Capossela was granted a U.S. patent for his method of integrating Access with source code control programs such as Microsoft Visual SourceSafe. Capossela has a bachelor's degree in computer science and economics from Harvard University. He first became interested in computers when, as a boy, he wrote a reservation system for his family's small Italian restaurant in Boston using dBASE for DOS on an early IBM PC. Capossela lives in Seattle with his wife and two daughters. Away from work, Capossela is a movie buff and enjoys playing tennis and traveling.

In September 2005, Microsoft announced that Senior Vice President Eric Rudder will be taking on a new role working directly for Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect. Rudder focuses on some of the company's key advanced development efforts as well as overall technical strategy. Rudder most recently served as senior vice president of Servers and Tools, and was also responsible for leading the company's outreach to the developer community. Rudder and his team focused on coordinating the overall programming model for the client and server, creating the best tools for the .NET platform and fostering synergies between Windows and the Windows Server System offerings. In addition, the division evangelizes the extended Microsoft platform through a variety of content offerings including providing effective web-based training for developers and IT managers. Prior to leading the Developer and Platform Evangelism division, Rudder was vice president of Technical Strategy working directly with Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates on Microsoft's technical planning processes. He also has worked in several other areas at Microsoft, including networking, operating systems and developer tools, where he previously served as general manager for Visual Studio. Rudder graduated with honors from Brown University in 1988, and currently lives in Seattle with his wife and two children.

As senior vice president of Strategy and Partnership at Microsoft Corp., Henry (Hank) P. Vigil works directly with Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, and the Microsoft Senior Leadership Team in developing and managing strategic relationships, mergers, acquisitions and investment partnerships with media, consumer electronics, telecommunications, software and Internet companies. Vigil is a key business leader driving Microsoft's overall consumer partnership engagements. Recently, Vigil has led Microsoft deal teams that concluded strategic agreements with Facebook, Nokia, France Telecom, Vodafone, NBC Universal Inc., News Corp., Time Warner and Viacom Inc. Vigil also played a key role in completing Microsoft's largest acquisition, of aQuantive Inc., valued at $6 billion. In recent years, Vigil has worked closely with Senior Vice President Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel and corporate secretary, to manage the rebuilding and restructuring of Microsoft's relationships with major technology industry competitors such as AOL LLC, Sun Microsystems Inc., Novell Inc., Real Networks Inc., Nokia and IBM Corp. Before leading these initiatives for Ballmer, Vigil was senior director of Strategy Planning and Business Development for the Digital Television Group, responsible for developing Microsoft's digital TV strategy, and also led the acquisition and consolidation of WebTV Networks Inc. In addition, Vigil negotiated strategic alliances with a range of telecommunications providers, including Liberty Media Corp., Comcast Corp., Telewest, JCOM and Time Warner Cable Inc. Previously, Vigil served as general manager of the Internet Commerce Business Unit and general manager of the Interactive Television Business Unit. From 1990 to 1995, as director of marketing for desktop applications, Vigil guided the overall marketing and business strategy for Microsoft Office, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Vigil earned an MBA and a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Stanford University. Vigil has served on several corporate boards and currently serves on the board of Thomson SA, the Stanford Business School board of advisors, and the Mercy Corps board of ambassadors, and is a citizen-founder of City Year Seattle, a national, nonprofit organization that supports teams of young adults who commit to a year of public service.

As senior vice president of the Office Business Platform Group (OBP) of the Microsoft Business Division, Kurt DelBene is responsible for the development of client and server products that collectively deliver to organizations a holistic platform for collaboration, information sharing and business applications. Products in the OBP Group include Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007, Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, Microsoft Office Project Web Access and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. DelBene joined Microsoft in 1992 and has served in several roles in Microsoft's product development teams. Prior to his current role, DelBene was vice president of Authoring and Collaboration Services, responsible for the development of Office's document and Web-page authoring and collaboration products. He also served as the general manager of Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft's messaging and personal-information-management application. He has also served as group program manager for Microsoft Exchange, responsible for the Microsoft Exchange client and Schedule+, and group manager in Microsoft's Systems Division, responsible for fax and embedded systems software. Prior to joining Microsoft, DelBene was a management consultant with McKinsey and Company, focusing on business strategy for technology companies. He has also worked as a software developer and systems engineer for AT & T Bell Laboratories, working in graphics and imaging software and network switching systems. DelBene holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago, a Master of Science from Stanford University, and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from the University of Arizona.

As senior vice president, Richard (Rick) F. Rashid oversees worldwide operations for Microsoft Research, an organization encompassing more than 850 researchers across six labs worldwide. Under Rashid's leadership, Microsoft Research conducts both basic and applied research across disciplines that include algorithms and theory; human-computer interaction; machine learning; multimedia and graphics; search; security; social computing; and systems, architecture, mobility and networking. His team collaborates with the world's foremost researchers in academia, industry and government on initiatives to advance the state-of-the-art of computing and to help ensure the future of Microsoft's products. After joining Microsoft in September 1991, Rashid served as director and vice president of the Microsoft Research division and was promoted to his current role in 2000. In his earlier roles, Rashid led research efforts on operating systems, networking and multiprocessors, and authored patents in such areas as data compression, networking and operating systems. He managed projects that catalyzed the development of Microsoft's interactive TV system and also directed Microsoft's first e-commerce group. Rashid was the driving force behind the creation of the team that later developed into Microsoft's Digital Media Division. Before joining Microsoft, Rashid was professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). As a faculty member, he directed the design and implementation of several influential network operating systems and published extensively about computer vision, operating systems, network protocols and communications security. During his tenure, Rashid developed the Mach multiprocessor operating system, which has been influential in the design of modern operating systems and remains at the core of several commercial systems. Rashid's research interests have focused on artificial intelligence, operating systems, networking and multiprocessors. He has participated in the design and implementation of the University of Rochester's Rochester Intelligent Gateway operating system, the Rochester Virtual Terminal Management System, the CMU Distributed Sensor Network Testbed, and CMU's SPICE distributed personal computing environment. He also co-developed of one of the earliest networked computer games, "Alto Trek," during the mid-1970s. Rashid was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2003 and presented with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Emanuel R. Piore Award and the SIGOPS Hall of Fame Award in 2008. He was also inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2008. In addition, Rashid is a member of the National Science Foundation Computer Directorate Advisory Committee and a past member of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency UNIX Steering Committee and the Computer Science Network Executive Committee. He is also a former chairman of the Association for Computing Machinery Software System Awards Committee. Rashid received master of science (1977) and doctoral (1980) degrees in computer science from the University of Rochester. He graduated with honors in mathematics and comparative literature from Stanford University in 1974.

As senior vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft, S. Somasegar leads the teams responsible for providing tools and developer platform technologies targeted at developers, designers and teams involved in software development. This includes the Microsoft .NET developer platform that provides a consistent programming model spanning client, Web, server, device and services platform, Silverlight, the Visual Studio family of products, and Expression Studio. Somasegar is also responsible for the Web server platform including Internet Information Services (IIS), Media Server and Commerce Server. His team also owns MSDN and TechNet online properties to enable a deep connection with the developer and IT professional audience. In addition, Somasegar oversees the Microsoft India Development Center (IDC) in Hyderabad, India, and the Microsoft Canada Development Center (MCDC) in Vancouver, British Columbia. Somasegar joined Microsoft in 1989, and worked on eight different operating system releases before heading up the Developer Division. Before joining Microsoft, Somasegar was a graduate student in computer engineering at the State University of New York in Buffalo. He holds a master's degree in computer engineering from Louisiana State University, USA and a bachelor's degree in electronics and communication engineering from Guindy Engineering College, Anna University, Chennai, India. In November 2006, Somasegar was awarded an honorary doctorate (honoris causa) by Anna University, India. In February 2008, he was awarded the Asian American Engineer of the Year Award. Somasegar and his wife have two daughters. He frequently shares his thoughts via his blog, http://blogs.msdn.com/somasegar.

Satya Nadella is a senior vice president and leads Microsoft Corp.'s engineering efforts in the Online Services Division, which includes the Search (Live Search), Portal (MSN) and Advertising platforms. Nadella joined Microsoft in 1992, and most recently led Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS). The Microsoft Business Solutions Group develops and markets the line of Microsoft Dynamics products that manage financial, customer relationship and supply chain management functions. During his six years in MBS, Nadella was responsible for Microsoft Dynamics ERP and the creation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Office Small Business product lines. Before that, Nadella founded and led the Microsoft bCentral small-business online service, served as general manager for Commerce Platforms Group, and was responsible for Microsoft Commerce Server and Microsoft BizTalk Server products. Nadella was also a key member of several advanced technology incubation efforts inside Microsoft, including interactive television and digital rights management. Nadella's first assignment at Microsoft was in the Windows Developer Relations group, where he was a program manager. Before joining Microsoft, Nadella was a member of the technology staff at Sun Microsystems Inc. Nadella has a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

As senior vice president for the Windows business, Bill Veghte has revenue responsibility for Microsoft's Windows businesses, including the business strategy, sales and marketing across Windows and Windows Live. Additionally, he has shared responsibility for Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) sales. Through collaboration with Microsoft's broad partner ecosystem, Veghte ensures that Windows lives up to its promise of "Life Without Walls" and continues to put the power of computing in the hands of over a billion people worldwide who use Windows at work, at home, and on the go. Since joining Microsoft in 1990, Veghte has taken on a series of roles that demand a strong combination of technical depth, business vision and execution. Veghte has driven a variety of Microsoft's technology and product efforts - from moving perceptions of open source and building a scalable business out of Microsoft's embedded and appliance offerings, to managing the development and marketing of Windows Server 2003 and Small Business Server 2003 line of products. As head of Microsoft North America, Veghte led the region to an 18 percent increase in overall customer and partner satisfaction and grew the business by over US$2 billion in top-line revenue in three years. Most recently, Veghte was corporate vice president of Windows client where his commitment to creative and innovative end user marketing was exemplified in partnerships such as Microsoft's alliance with (Product) RED. Veghte's passion extends into the community where he serves on several boards including nPower (www.nPower.org) which is dedicated to helping non-profits use technology to serve their communities.Veghte lives in Seattle with his wife and two sons and is an avid outdoorsman who loves hiking and skiing.

As head of the Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft, Allison Watson leads a global team of 5,000 Microsoft employees and is responsible for Microsoft's worldwide strategy for the more than 640,000 independently owned-and-operated partner companies. These companies resell and provide services on Microsoft technologies for 43 million customers, ranging from the smallest entrepreneurs to the largest global enterprises. Watson leads strategy for and delivers cross-company commitment to Microsoft's partners of all types, including independent software vendors, value-added resellers, resellers, distributors and systems integrators serving business customers across all geographies and products. Watson has been instrumental in establishing world-class channel leadership for Microsoft. During the past four years, she led the launch of the Microsoft Partner Program and secured an increased investment in the channel, doubling the overall commitment to over US$2 billion annually, aligning Microsoft's partner strategy more closely to the business interests of its partners, and translating that strategy into practical program elements that promote partner success in the marketplace. In 2004 "CRN Magazine" recognized Watson for her achievements by naming her Channel Executive of the Year, and in 2006 it recognized her as one of the 10 Worldwide Agenda-Setters for realigning the largest partner program in the industry. In July 2007, "VARBusiness" named Watson one of "The Most Powerful Women of the Channel," and she was also recognized as a 2008 "CRN Channel Chief." CRN also recognized Watson's Microsoft Partner Program as a 5-Star Gold Program in its Partner Programs Guide. Before assuming her current role in October 2003, Watson served as chief of staff in support of Kevin Johnson, now co-president of Microsoft's Platforms & Services Division. Prior to that, Watson served as general manager for Microsoft's Mid-Atlantic District, guiding the sales, marketing and consulting teams to exceed quota and delivering growth of more than 200 percent. Before joining Microsoft in 1993, Watson held sales and consulting positions in the healthcare, manufacturing and high-tech industries. She holds a bachelor of arts in economics from Stanford University and a master's of business administration from San Diego State University.

Amitabh Srivastava is a Senior Vice President at Microsoft with responsibility for Windows Azure, the company's new operating system for the cloud. Srivastava joined Microsoft in 1997 as a Senior Researcher and led the Advanced Development Tools group in Microsoft Research that investigated new techniques to build innovative tools and technologies to improve performance and quality of Microsoft software. His vision and energy led to the creation of the Programmer Productivity Research Center (PPRC) in March 1999, which he has led since its inception. Srivastava's PPRC group, now known as Center for Software Excellence (CSE), has produced several tools and technologies that are critical to Microsoft product groups. In January 2001, Srivastava became one of a select few to be named a Distinguished Engineer, now known as Technical Fellow. Srivastava joined the Windows group in December 2003 as Corporate Vice President to redefine the engineering process for Windows Vista. He was responsible for the development of core operating system components such as the kernel, operating system architecture, definition of development processes, and development of advanced tools to automate the development processes. In late 2006, with Dave Cutler he started 'project Red Dog' to build the operating system for the cloud. Project Red Dog was announced as 'Windows Azure' at PDC 2008. Before working for Microsoft, Srivastava was the chief technical officer and vice president of engineering at TracePoint Technology Inc., a spin-off company from Digital Equipment Corp. He joined Digital's Western Research Labs (DEC WRL) in Palo Alto, Calif. in 1991. Srivastava's research on binary code modification at DEC WRL resulted in the creation of TracePoint. Srivastava started his career as a researcher at Texas Instruments Inc.'s Research Labs in Dallas, Texas in 1984 after graduating from Pennsylvania State University. Srivastava holds 14 patents and has published a variety of papers. His paper on ATOM with Alan Eustace in PLDI 1994 received the Most Influential PLDI Paper Award in June 2005. He is the author of OM, ATOM and SCOOPS software systems, which have resulted in products for Digital Equipment and Texas Instruments on the Alpha and PC platforms. He led the design and development of Vulcan, a second-generation binary transformation system, at Microsoft. Vulcan is the foundation of a wide variety of tools developed at PPRC. Srivastava delivered the commencement address titled "Fourth and Goal" at the College of Engineering graduation ceremonies at Pennsylvania State University, University Park on May 16, 2008. Srivastava earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, and a master's degree in computer science from Pennsylvania State University. He received the 2003-2004 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and was selected as the 2004 Outstanding Engineering Alumnus at Pennsylvania State University.

As corporate vice president, Anoop Gupta's responsibilities span three related areas: Technology Policy and Strategy; Unlimited Potential Group; and Education Products & Solutions. Gupta works with Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie on a broad range of policy and strategy issues, including identifying gaps in Microsoft's strategic portfolio and developing incubations to address these as appropriate, and proactively anticipating areas where regulation or policy may impact Microsoft's ability to bring innovations to market. As head of the Unlimited Potential Group, Gupta leads the company's efforts to create new business models and technologies to help close the digital divide and help bring social and economic opportunity to the estimated five billion people not yet realizing the benefits of technology. In Education Products & Solutions, he is responsible for leading Microsoft's education efforts across the company and bringing to market education solutions in both developed and emerging markets. Gupta and his team work with customers, industry partners and Microsoft product teams to improve the learning experience for students, educators and institutions. Before assuming his current post in February 2007, Gupta served for four years as corporate vice president of Microsoft's Unified Communications Group, leading the company's client-server-service efforts to provide business communications solutions (e-mail, IM, VoIP-telephony, unified messaging, audio/video/web conferencing) and platform components. His team was responsible for Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Office Communications Server, Microsoft Office Live Meeting, Exchange Hosted Services, Microsoft Office Communicator and RoundTable, and other related communications products and services. Before leading the Unified Communications Group, Gupta was technology assistant to Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman. In that role, Gupta helped define the company's strategy for real-time collaboration. He also contributed to several initiatives related to Windows Vista. Gupta became Bill Gates' technology assistant after working for four years at Microsoft Research, where he led the Collaboration and Multimedia Group. His team was responsible for development and transfer of many key technologies to product groups. Before joining Microsoft in 1997, Gupta was a professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University for 11 years. His research at Stanford spanned computer architecture, operating systems, programming languages, simulation and performance debugging tools, and parallel applications. He also co-led, with John Hennessy, the development of hardware and software for the Stanford DASH multiprocessor, a highly concurrent shared-memory parallel computer that had a large impact on the industry. At Stanford, Gupta also led the Virtual Classroom project, which explored compression and networking issues related to transmission of audio-video over the Internet and its applications in education. In 1995, Gupta used the seeds of the technology developed in that project to form VXtreme Inc., a provider of technologies for streaming audio-visual content over the Web, which Microsoft acquired in 1997. Gupta has published more than 100 papers in major conferences and journals, including several that have won awards. He has contributed to more than 50 patents. With David Culler and Jaswinder Pal Singh, he co-authored the book "Parallel Computer Architecture: A Hardware-Software Approach" in 1998. He received the National Science Foundation (NSF) Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1990, and he held the Robert N. Noyce Faculty Scholar Chair at Stanford for 1993 and 1994. Before joining Stanford in 1987, Gupta was on the research faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, where he received his Ph.D. in computer science in 1986. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, where he graduated receiving the President's Gold Medal in 1980.

William (Bill) H. Gates is chairman of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. On June 27, 2008, Gates transitioned out of a day-to-day role in the company to spend more time on his global health and education work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates continues to serve as Microsoft’s chairman and as an advisor on key development projects. In June 2006, Ray Ozzie assumed Gates’ previous title as chief software architect and oversees technical architecture and product oversight responsibilities at Microsoft. Craig Mundie assumed the new title of chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft and is responsible for the company’s research and incubation efforts. Born on Oct. 28, 1955, Gates grew up in Seattle with his two sisters. Their father, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney. Their late mother, Mary Gates, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent, and chairwoman of United Way International. Gates attended public elementary school and the private Lakeside School. There, he discovered his interest in software and began programming computers at age 13. In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived down the hall from Steve Ballmer, now Microsoft's chief executive officer. While at Harvard, Gates developed a version of the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer - the MITS Altair. In his junior year, Gates left Harvard to devote his energies to Microsoft, a company he had begun in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers. Gates’ foresight and his vision for personal computing have been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry. Under Gates’ leadership, Microsoft's mission has been to continually advance and improve software technology, and to make it easier, more cost-effective and more enjoyable for people to use computers. The company is committed to a long-term view, reflected in its industry-leading investment in research and development each year. In 1999, Gates wrote “Business @ the Speed of Thought”, a book that shows how computer technology can solve business problems in fundamentally new ways. The book was published in 25 languages and is available in more than 60 countries. “Business @ the Speed of Thought” has received wide critical acclaim, and was listed on the best-seller lists of the “New York Times”, “USA Today”, “The Wall Street Journal” and on Amazon.com. Gates' previous book, “The Road Ahead”, published in 1995, was at the top of the “New York Times“ bestseller list for seven weeks. Gates has donated the proceeds of both books to non-profit organizations that support the use of technology in education and skills development. In addition to his love of computers and software, Gates founded Corbis, which is developing one of the world's largest resources of visual information - a comprehensive digital archive of art and photography from public and private collections around the globe. He is also a member of the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which invests in companies engaged in diverse business activities. Philanthropy is very important to Gates. He and his wife, Melinda, started a foundation in 2000 to help reduce inequities in the United States and around the world. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and learning, with the hope that in the 21st century, advances in these critical areas will be available for all people. To learn more about the foundation, visit www.gatesfoundation.org. Gates was married on Jan. 1, 1994, to Melinda French Gates. They have three children. Gates is an avid reader, and enjoys playing golf, tennis and bridge.

Mr. Noski has been a director since September 2005. He was Corporate Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Northrop Grumman Corporation from December 2003 to March 2005, and a director from November 2002 to May 2005. Prior to joining Northrop in 2003, Mr. Noski was a senior advisor to The Blackstone Group. Earlier, Mr. Noski was Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer as well as Vice Chairman of the Board of AT&T Corp. Mr. Noski has also been President, Chief Operating Officer and a director of Hughes Electronics Corporation and a partner with Deloitte & Touche. He is a member of the boards of directors of Microsoft Corporation, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., and Automatic Data Processing, Inc. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in accounting from California State University, Northridge, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters awarded by the California State University system.

Dr. Panke joined the Microsoft Board as a nonexecutive director on Nov. 11, 2003. He also serves on the board of directors of UBS AG, Switzerland, the supervisory board of Bayer AG, and the advisory board of Global Strategic Equities Fund of Dubai International Capital LLC. Dr. Panke has been with BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG since 1982 in a variety of positions and, from May 2002 through August 2006, served as Chairman of the Board of Management. From 1999 to 2002, he served as Member of the Board of Management for Finance. From 1996 to 1999, Dr. Panke was Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources and Information Technology. In his role as Chairman and CEO of BMW (US) Holding Corp. from 1993 to 1996 he was responsible for the company's North American activities.

Reed Hastings founded Netflix in 1997 and launched the subscription service in 1999. Netflix grew to one million subscribers in less than four years, and reached 9.4 million subscribers by the end of 2008. In eight consecutive surveys since 2005 Netflix has been ranked number one in customer satisfaction across all of ecommerce by independent researcher ForeSee Results. In the fall of 2005, Netflix was the winner of Fast Company's national Customers First Award, with Reed appearing on the cover of the October issue. Also in 2005, Time magazine added Reed to its "Time 100" list of the one hundred most influential global citizens. Newsweek wrote that "Netflix revolutionized the way we watch movies." In March 2007 Reed was appointed to Microsoft Corp.'s board of directors and he was inducted into the Video Business Hall of Fame in December. Earlier in his career, Reed founded Pure Software, which he built into one of the world's 50 largest public software companies. After a successful public offering and a number of acquisitions, Pure was acquired by Rational Software in 1997. Reed is an active educational philanthropist and board member of many non-profits. In addition, he was President of the California State Board of Education from 2000 to 2004. He has led successful statewide political campaigns for more charter public schools and easier passage of local school bonds. Reed received a BA from Bowdoin College in 1983 and an MSCS degree from Stanford University in 1988. He holds several patents. Between Bowdoin and Stanford, Reed served in the U.S. Peace Corps as a high school math teacher in Swaziland.