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Professionals in the IT world
Bill Gates (Microsoft owner)
William (Bill) H. Gates is chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. Microsoft had revenues of US.19 billion for the fiscal year ending June 2003, and employs more than 55,000 people in 85 countries and regions. 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 investment of more than .8 billion on research and development in the current fiscal 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 Amazon.com. Gates' previous book, The Road Ahead, published in 1995, held the No. 1 spot on 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 is interested in biotechnology. He sits on the board of ICOS, a company that specializes in protein-based and small-molecule therapeutics, and he is an investor in a number of other biotechnology companies. Gates also 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.
Philanthropy is also important to Gates. He and his wife, Melinda, have endowed a foundation with more than billion to support philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and learning, with the hope that as we move into the 21st century, advances in these critical areas will be available for all people. To date, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed more than .2 billion to organizations working in global health; more than billion to improve learning opportunities, including the Gates Library Initiative to bring computers, Internet Access and training to public libraries in low-income communities in the United States and Canada; more than million to community projects in the Pacific Northwest; and more than million to special projects and annual giving campaigns.
Gates was married on Jan. 1, 1994, to Melinda French Gates. They have three children. Gates is an avid reader, and enjoys playing golf and bridge.
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Farzad Nazem
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Farzad Nazem
Chief Technical Officer and Executive Vice President, Engineering and Site Operations
Farzad Nazem joined Yahoo! in early 1996 as senior vice president of engineering and surfing and was named chief technical officer in January 1997. He is responsible for overseeing all areas of engineering, including site operations and product development. Nazem has more than 18 years of experience in executive and technical positions. Prior to Yahoo!, he was vice president of Oracle Corporation's Media and Web Server Division. Previously, Nazem held various technical positions for SYDIS, Inc. and Rolm Corporation. He holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from California Polytechnic State University |
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Omid Kordestani
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Omid Kordestani
Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Field Operations
As the individual responsible for Google's revenue generation efforts, Omid Kordestani is the tireless leader of an international sales effort that has brought Google to profitability in record time. Kordestani has more than a dozen years of high-technology consumer and enterprise experience, including key positions at Internet pioneer Netscape Communications. As vice president of Business Development and Sales, Kordestani grew Netscape's website revenue from an annual run-rate of million to more than million in 18 months.
Kordestani joined Netscape as director of OEM Sales, and during his four-year career at that company he was responsible for establishing major customer relationships with Citibank, AOL, Amazon, Intuit, Travelocity, Intel, @Home, eBay, and Excite. Prior to Netscape, Kordestani held positions in marketing, product management, and business development at The 3DO Company, Go Corporation, and Hewlett-Packard.
Kordestani received an MBA from Stanford University and a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from San Jose State University. |
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Pierre Omidyar
Name: Pierre Omidyar Title: Founder and Chairman of the Board
Pierre Omidyar changed the face of Internet commerce in 1995 when he created eBay, the world’s online marketplace, with a passionate community of individuals and businesses. Looking for a way to create an efficient market, he pioneered the auction format for online person-to-person trading, creating a simple, easy-to-understand mechanism that lets buyers and sellers decide the true value of items and connect with others.
When Pierre launched eBay as a hobby, his day job was conducting developer relations for General Magic. Prior to General Magic, he co-founded Ink Development Corp., which was renamed eShop and acquired by Microsoft. His career began in the software engineering business, working as a developer for Claris, a subsidiary of Apple Computer, where he worked on consumer applications.
Today, Pierre is a full-time philanthropist investing in and providing leadership that cultivates community effectiveness. Recently, Pierre worked closely with Tufts University to create the University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS), an initiative preparing all Tufts students for an active role in building stronger communities and societies. Pierre is also founder and chairman of the Omidyar Foundation. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Tufts University and Santa Fe Institute.
Pierre graduated from Tufts University in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science.
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International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce
Faryar Shirzad
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration |
Faryar Shirzad was confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Import Administration on
May 1, 2001. As Assistant Secretary, Mr. Shirzad is responsible for administering the U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws. He is also responsible for working with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in consultations with the World Trade Organization and other international fora regarding antidumping and countervailing duty laws. In addition, he is responsible for negotiations to promote fair trade in specific sectors, such as steel; heads the Subsidies Enforcement Office; and, serves as the Secretary's delegate on the Foreign Trade Zones Board.
Prior to joining the Administration, Mr. Shirzad served as Lead International Trade Policy Coordinator at the Bush-Cheney transition offices. In that capacity, he coordinated transition efforts relating to USTR, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC), and the International Trade Administration (ITA) at the Department of Commerce.
From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Shirzad served as International Trade Counsel on the majority staff of the Senate Committee on Finance, under then-Chairman William V. Roth, Jr. (DE). In that role, Mr. Shirzad was responsible for advising the Chairman on all maters relating to the Committee's jurisdiction over international trade and was also responsible for coordinating the Finance Committee's oversight of the various trade agencies of the U.S. government.
While in the private sector, Mr. Shirzad was an international trade attorney in Washington, D.C. at the law firms of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi.
Mr. Shirzad obtained his law degree at the University of Virginia Law School. While in law school, Mr. Shirzad served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law & Politics, and was inducted into the Raven Society in recognition of his contributions to the University. He received a Masters in Public Policy, with a concentration in international trade and finance, at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He received a B.S. in Finance (summa cum laude) from the University of Maryland, College Park. |
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