BILL GATES

1955–

American business magnate, computer software developer, investor, and philanthropist Bill Gates is best known for cofounding Microsoft. The global computer business ushered in the personal computer era, transforming almost every aspect of modern life, from work to personal communication.

An inquisitive student, William Henry Gates discovered his interest in computers while attending the private Lakeside School in Seattle. He began writing software programs at the age of 13 with his friend Paul Allen. Two years later, Gates and Allen developed a computer program to monitor traffic patterns in Seattle. They wanted to set up a company, but Gates’s parents, hoping that he would become a lawyer, encouraged him to finish school and go to college.

In 1973, Gates went to Harvard University. After reading a magazine article on the new Altair 8800 microcomputer made by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), he and Paul Allen contacted the company, claiming they could create a version of the BASIC programming language that would work on the Altair 8800. MITS expressed interest, and the pair embarked on developing the software, which they then licensed to MITS.

Software revolution

In 1975, Gates dropped out of Harvard to work with Allen, who had joined MITS. The pair took an office in Albuquerque and called their partnership “Micro-Soft.” Gates realized that their software could be used on any microcomputer, and within a year, they had become independent of MITS and amended their name to Microsoft. By 1979, Gates was heading a business that had 16 employees and was grossing around $2.5 million.

Personal computers (PCs) were in their infancy, and Gates bought an existing operating system that he developed into MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) and licensed to IBM. Other companies began to develop PCs, and as MS-DOS was ready and available, it became the industry standard. Microsoft’s revenue from the program jumped from $7 million in 1980 to $16 million in 1981.

Gates believed that the PC would become an invaluable business tool, and the growing Microsoft team focused on developing new software for it. While Gates was Microsoft’s spokesperson, other people were involved in the company’s phenomenal growth, including Allen and Steve Ballmer. By 1983, an estimated 30 percent of the world’s computers ran on Microsoft software.

The growth of Microsoft appeared unstoppable until the advent of Apple’s Macintosh computer in 1984, which had a simpler interface that used graphics. In response, Gates developed the Windows operating system and took Microsoft public in 1986. By 1993, Windows was estimated to be on nearly 85 percent of the world’s computers. The company strengthened its industry dominance in the mid-1990s by combining Windows with its other applications to create Microsoft Office and persuading manufacturers to preload their software on every new computer. The strategy worked—by 1999, Microsoft was posting sales of $19.7 billion.

Gates realized the great potential of the web from the start. In 1995, a memo sent to Microsoft staff titled “The Internet tidal wave” outlined his company vision for dominating the new online arena.

Move to philanthropy

After 25 years at the helm, Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft in 2000 and set up a charitable foundation with his wife, Melinda. Focusing on improving health and well-being in developing countries, the foundation has given more than $50 billion in grants to date. Gates also founded the Giving Pledge in 2010, with Melinda and businessman Warren Buffett, which aims to encourage other extremely rich individuals to commit half of their wealth to philanthropic causes.

NAGAVARA RAMARAO NARAYANA MURTHY

Indian IT industrialist N. R. Narayana Murthy cofounded the multinational corporation Infosys Ltd., a global leader in IT outsourcing services, software technology, and consulting.

After working in the IT industry in India and overseas, Murthy (1946–) set up Infosys with six colleagues and just $250 in 1981. Their first client was in New York, and within six years, Infosys opened a US office. Murthy’s concept of the Global Delivery Model (GDM)—a system of outsourcing IT solutions around the world—has become the backbone of the Indian software industry. He also introduced the notion of the 24-hour working day. Today, Infosys is a global software services company with annual revenue of more than $12 billion, and Murthy has been the recipient of numerous international business awards.