Steven A. Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft
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.
During the past 20 years, Ballmer has headed several Microsoft divisions, including
operations, operating systems development, and sales and support. In July 1998,
he was promoted to President, a role that gave him day-to-day responsibility for
running Microsoft. He was named CEO in January 2000, assuming full management responsibility
for the company, which includes delivering on the company’s mission of enabling
people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.
Ray Ozzie, Chief Software Architect
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.
Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager, Internet Explorer
Dean Hachamovitch is responsible for the design, development, and release of Internet
Explorer. His passion is delivering trustworthy software that customers love. He
joined Microsoft in 1990, helping lead the development and release of several versions
of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office in the 1990s on both Windows and Macintosh.
Guy Kawasaki, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures
Guy Kawasaki is the co-founder of Truemors and a managing director of Garage Technology
Ventures. He is also a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine. Previously, he was an
Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. Guy is the author of eight books including
The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy,
Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. He has a BA from Stanford University and
an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.
Scott Guthrie, Vice President, Microsoft
Scott Guthrie is the Vice President of the .NET Developer Platform. A founding member
of the .NET Framework team at Microsoft, Scott today runs the development teams
that deliver the CLR, ASP.NET, Silverlight, WPF, IIS7, and the Visual Studio tools
for Web, WPF and Silverlight development.
David Armano, VP, Critical Mass
As VP, Experience Design for Critical Mass, David has the privilege of leading talented
interdisciplinary teams across a variety of clients while leveraging his background
as a creative problem solver and strategic thinker. David has over 14 years experience
in the creative field with the majority of his time spent in digital marketing and
experience design. An active thought leader in the industry, David authors the popular
Logic + Emotion blog currently ranked in the top 50 media + marketing blogs according
to Advertising Age. David’s writing and visual thinking has been cited by Forrester,
Adweek, Crain’s Chicago, The Boston Globe and landed him in BusinessWeek on several
occasions including their “Best of 2006”. Prior to Critical Mass, David spent time
as a creative lead at notable firms such as Digitas and Agency.com—putting in a
combined tenure of 8 years in the large digital agency environment. He led multiple
user-centered initiatives for clients such as HP, Allstate, Fifth Third Bank, Miller
Brewing, Grainger, and Bally Total Fitness. Previously, David earned his interactive
stripes working with The Chicago Tribune. David helped launch and upgrade site features,
functionality and content for the Tribune’s flagship site. David also accumulated
broadcast and direct marketing experience while working for companies such as Fox
and Columbia House. David holds a BFA cum laude in Computer Graphics from Pratt
Institute. He minored in Visual Communications and was fortunate enough to study
under some of the most innovative minds in the industry. He currently resides in
a near-northern suburb of Chicago, not far from Lake Michigan. When David isn't
working, surfing the net, or riding his motorbike—he can be found spending quality
time with his wife and two boys.
Lou Carbone
In an increasingly generic world, where customers are fickle, margins are thin and
profits elusive, managing compelling experiences can make all the difference. That’s
the message author and internationally acclaimed speaker Lou Carbone drives home.
Recognized as the leader who launched the “experience” movement, Lou delivers a
thought-provoking program focused on positive customer experiences to Fortune 500
Companies, top business schools, executive forums, sales conferences, associations
and educator meetings. He’s lectured at leading institutions like the Harvard Business
School, Columbia School of Business, Haas School of Business, University of California
at Berkeley, Texas A&M, Boston University and many others.
Jensen Harris, Group Program Manager, Microsoft
Jensen Harris is the Group Program Manager of the Microsoft Office User Experience
team and was one of the key designers behind the new Ribbon user interface introduced
in Office 2007. Jensen joined Microsoft in 1998, and he has been focused on the
overall UI model for Microsoft Office since late 2003. Prior to working at Microsoft,
Jensen graduated with degrees in music composition from Yale University and Interlochen
Arts Academy. He is the author of widely-used software, including the cross-platform,
distributed caller ID system YAC. He publishes his thoughts on software design on
his blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh.
Dan Harrelson, Senior Technologist, Adaptive Path
Dan Harrelson is a senior technologist at Adaptive Path. He has an extensive background
in web application development, IT administration, systems analysis, and design.
He has over 10 years of technical and business experience, with expertise in all
aspects of architecting and coding online media. Dan's unique understanding of both
design and back-end systems allows him to help clients realize their product's full
potential.
Kim Lenox, Senior Interaction Designer, Adaptive Path
Kim Lenox is a senior interaction designer at Adaptive Path. With over a decade
of experience in software design and development, she is a strong believer in the
power of user experience design to improve our daily lives. Kim's primary focus
is working with clients as a researcher, trainer, and designer for mobile, devices,
and application software.
Dan Roam, Founder, Digital Roam
Dan Roam is the founder of Digital Roam Inc, a management consulting company that
helps executives at Microsoft, Wal-Mart, eBay, Wells Fargo, The Federal Reserve
Bank of New York, Peet's Coffee & Tea, The US Navy, and other organizations around
the world solve complex problems by learning to think with their eyes. His book,
The Back Of The Napkin: Solving problems and Selling Ideas With Pictures,
will be published in March by Penguin Portfolio.