Bill Gates

Bill Gates

William H. Gates Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Microsoft Corporation William (Bill) H. Gates is chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft Corporation, the leading provider, worldwide, of software for the personal computer. and employs more than 20,000 people in 48 countries. Born on October 28, 1955, Gates and his two sisters grew up in Seattle. 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 began his career in personal computer software, 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 executive vice president for sales and support. While at Harvard, Gates developed the programming language BASIC for the first microcomputer -- the MITS Altair. In his junior year, Gates dropped out of Harvard to devote his energies to Microsoft, a company he had begun in 1975 with Paul Allen. Guided by a belief that the personal computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home, they began developing software for personal computers. Gates' foresight and vision regarding personal computing have been central to the success of Microsoft and the software industry. Gates is actively involved in key management and strategic decisions at Microsoft, and plays an important role in the technical development of new products. A significant portion of his time is devoted to meeting with customers and staying in contact with Microsoft employees around the world through e-mail. Under Gates' leadership, Microsoft's mission is to continually advance and improve software technology and to make it easier, more cost-effective and more enjoyable for people to use computers. In 1995, Gates wrote The Road Ahead, his vision of where information technology will take society. Co-authored by Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft's chief technology officer, and Peter Rinearson, The Road Ahead held the No. 1 spot on the New York Times' bestseller list for seven weeks. Published in the U.S. by Viking, the book was on the NYT list for a total of 18 weeks. Published in more than 20 countries, the book sold