Most Famous Business Leaders
Jan Koum
Born in Kyiv, Ukraine but moved to the United States when he was 16 years old. He soon discovered his passion for programming and enrolled at San José State University. After a brief stint at SJSU and working as a security tester at Yahoo, Koum started WhatsApp. WhatsApp quickly became one of the fastest downloaded apps in the App Store, and one of the most internationally used apps. Koum sold WhatsApp to Facebook in 2014 for approximately $19.3 billion.
Elon Musk
Born in South Africa and is a businessman, inventor, and investor. Musk is most widely known for his founding of PayPal and SpaceX and his heavy involvement in Tesla Motors. His vision and passion for pushing the boundaries of technology and consumer integration have led to increased exposure to solar power, high-speed transportation, and artificial intelligence.
Andrew Jassy
Built AWS (Amazon Web Services) and VP of Amazon Allowing any programmer the ability to rent computing power whenever needed, whereas previously most companies bought and ran their own servers.
Sundar Pichai
CEO of Google Joined Google as the product manager in 2004 and led the innovative efforts for several of Google's products including Google Chrome and Chrome OS which went on to become highly successful.
Jeff Weiner
CEO of LinkedIn Although LinkedIn was founded in 2002, it was under Weiner's leadership that LinkedIn completed its IPO and became one of the most-used social media platforms in the world. Weiner is also extremely active in non-profits, sitting on the Board of Directors of DonorsChoose.org and Malaria No More.
Satya Nadella
CEO of Microsoft Joined Microsoft to work on Windows NT and rose up in rank to become CEO in 2014. One of his first tasks as CEO was to oversee completed acquisition of Nokia. After the deal closed, he announced the largest layoff in Microsoft's history; 18,000 positions were eliminated, the majority of which involved Nokia.
Susan Wojcicki
CEO of Youtube First marketing manager of Google. Her contributions helped her climb several rungs up the career ladder to become Senior Vice President of Advertising & Commerce. Two of the largest acquisitions of Google, namely DoubleClick and YouTube were handled by her.
Bob Iger
CEO of the Disney Corporation. He has led the acquisitions of major companies like Marvel, Pixar, and, most recently, Lucas Films. His leadership has also led to the expansion of Disney's theme parks into Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Tim Cook
CEO of the most valuable company in the world, Apple. Took over after Steve Jobs succumbed to cancer in 2011. Cook has helped navigate Apple through the transition after Jobs' death as well as developing new product lines and opening Apple retail stores in China. He has also led a very public battle against the FBI and their demand that Apple creates a backdoor for users' iPhones.
Mary Barra
Chairman and CEO of General Motors (GM) Company. Prior to her in 2014, she served as the Executive Vice President of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain at GM. She is currently contesting for space in the electric automobile market. In 2016, she launched the Chevrolet Bolt EV with a battery that outlasts Tesla's. As of late 2017, Barra was elected to the board of Disney with high regards from Robert Iger
Sheryl Sandberg
Chief Operating Officer of Facebook since 2008. She founded a nonprofit, Lean In, named after her best-selling book. She has been an influential advocate for women in the business world. She has made the successful transition from government work at the Treasury Department to the tech industry at Google and Facebook.
Reed Hastings
Co-founder and CEO of Netflix. What originally started as a no-late-fees, no-due-dates subscription service soon transitioned into online streaming, which shook the very foundation of digital entertainment. In addition, Hastings constantly uses his position of influence to promote change and reform in the California State Board of Education and through charter schools.
Jeff Bezos
Founded Amazon from a garage in Seattle in 1994. Bezos attended Princeton and worked at a hedge fund before quitting to sell books online. His aerospace company, Blue Origin, is developing a reusable rocket that Bezos says will carry passengers. He purchased The Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million. In Sept. 2018 he announced the Bezos Day One Fund, a $2 billion pledge to help homeless families and create Montessori-inspired preschools in the U.S.
Bill Gates
Founded Microsoft, the world's largest PC software company, and each year, he is consistently near the top of the list of the world's wealthiest people. Over the years, Gates has slowly transitioned away from Microsoft and into philanthropic ventures. His foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is working to provide clean water and sanitation (among other things) to third-world countries.
Huateng "Pony" Ma
Founder and president of Tencent, Inc. Tencent is one of the largest internet companies in China. He has been named to Time's most-influential-people list twice (2007 and 2014).
Jack Ma
Founder of Alibaba Group, a group of internet companies. Before getting accepted to Hangzhou Teacher's Institute, Ma was rejected from university three times. After graduation, he applied for 30 jobs and was turned down for all of them. He first learned about the internet during a short trip to the U.S., and when he returned home, he created a small website about China and Chinese products. This would be his first step towards creating a company that would hold the record for largest IPO in history.
Reshma Saujani
Founder of Girls Who Code, which promotes technology training (specifically coding) to girls. She is an American lawyer and politician. Her company, Girls Who Code, has camps set up in 42 states with over 10,000 girls attending.
Warren Buffett
One of the most successful investors in the world. Consistently named as one of the wealthiest people in the world. He has also pledged to give away nearly 99% of his accumulated wealth to philanthropic causes after his death.
