Paul Maritz
Encyclopedia
Paul Maritz is CEO of VMware Corporation
(NYSE:VMW), and a past senior executive at Microsoft
.
Born and raised in Rhodesia
(now Zimbabwe
), his family later moved to South Africa
where he was schooled at Highbury Preparatory School
and Hilton College. He received a B.Sc. in Computer Science
from the University of Natal
, and a B.Sc. (Hons) degree, also in Computer Science, from the University of Cape Town
in 1977.
in 1981 to join Intel.
He worked for Intel for five years, including developing early tools to help developers write software for the then-new x86 platform, before joining Microsoft
in 1986.
From 1986 to 2000 he worked at Microsoft
, leaving as executive vice president of the Platforms Strategy and Developer Group and part of the 5-person executive management team. He was often said to be the third-ranking executive, behind Bill Gates
and Steve Ballmer
. He was responsible for essentially all of Microsoft's desktop and server software, including such major initiatives as the development of Windows 95
, Windows NT
, and Internet Explorer
. While at Microsoft, Maritz was credited for originating the term "eating your own dogfood" also known as Dogfooding.
He then founded, and was CEO of Pi Corporation, a company backed by Warburg Pincus
. When this was acquired by EMC in February 2008, Maritz briefly became President and General Manager of EMC Corporation
's Cloud Computing
division, before being appointed CEO of VMware
(a public company majority-owned by EMC), on July 8, 2008 - replacing co-founder and CEO Diane Greene
.
He is an angel investor in Apture
. He sponsors third-world development projects and is the chairman of the board of the Grameen Foundation
.
Maritz was the recipient of the 2011 Morgan Stanley Leadership Award for Global Commerce, “which recognizes individuals whose personal leadership has made a critical contribution to the effective use of information technology throughout the world.”
VMware
VMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
(NYSE:VMW), and a past senior executive at Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
Born and raised in Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
(now Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
), his family later moved to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
where he was schooled at Highbury Preparatory School
Highbury Preparatory School
Highbury Preparatory School is a private school for boys located in Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-History:Highbury was founded in 1903 by Sibella Douglas McMillan. It was named after Highbury House School in England, which was established by Sibella McMillan's father, the Rev Charles...
and Hilton College. He received a B.Sc. in Computer Science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
from the University of Natal
University of Natal
The University of Natal was a university in Natal, and later KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, that is now part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg, and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931. In 1947, the university...
, and a B.Sc. (Hons) degree, also in Computer Science, from the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
in 1977.
Career
After finishing his graduate studies, Maritz had a programming job with Burroughs and later became a researcher at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, before moving to Silicon ValleySilicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
in 1981 to join Intel.
He worked for Intel for five years, including developing early tools to help developers write software for the then-new x86 platform, before joining Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
in 1986.
From 1986 to 2000 he worked at Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, leaving as executive vice president of the Platforms Strategy and Developer Group and part of the 5-person executive management team. He was often said to be the third-ranking executive, behind Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
and Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer
Steven Anthony "Steve" Ballmer is an American business magnate. He is the chief executive officer of Microsoft, having held that post since January 2000. , his personal wealth is estimated at US$13.9 billion, ranking number 19 on the Forbes 400.-Early life:Ballmer was born in Detroit, Michigan to...
. He was responsible for essentially all of Microsoft's desktop and server software, including such major initiatives as the development of Windows 95
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented graphical user interface-based operating system. It was released on August 24, 1995 by Microsoft, and was a significant progression from the company's previous Windows products...
, Windows NT
Windows NT
Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...
, and Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
. While at Microsoft, Maritz was credited for originating the term "eating your own dogfood" also known as Dogfooding.
He then founded, and was CEO of Pi Corporation, a company backed by Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus, LLC is an American private equity firm with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil and Asia. It has been a private equity investor since 1966...
. When this was acquired by EMC in February 2008, Maritz briefly became President and General Manager of EMC Corporation
EMC Corporation
EMC Corporation , a Financial Times Global 500, Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, develops, delivers and supports information infrastructure and virtual infrastructure hardware, software, and services. EMC is headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA.Former Intel executive Richard Egan and his...
's Cloud Computing
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
division, before being appointed CEO of VMware
VMware
VMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
(a public company majority-owned by EMC), on July 8, 2008 - replacing co-founder and CEO Diane Greene
Diane Greene
Diane Greene was a founder of VMware and the CEO from 1998 to 2008.Greene, Mendel Rosenblum, Scott Devine, Edward Wang and Edouard Bugnion founded VMware in 1998....
.
He is an angel investor in Apture
Apture
Apture is a service that allows publishers and bloggers to link and incorporate multimedia into a dynamic layer above their pages.Apture is currently being used by several large organizations and publishers including The Washington Post, The Economist, Scribd, and the World Wide Fund for Nature as...
. He sponsors third-world development projects and is the chairman of the board of the Grameen Foundation
Grameen Foundation
Grameen Foundation, founded as Grameen Foundation USA, is a global 501 non-profit organization based in Washington DC that works to replicate the Grameen Bank microfinance model around the world through a global network of partner microfinance institutions...
.
Maritz was the recipient of the 2011 Morgan Stanley Leadership Award for Global Commerce, “which recognizes individuals whose personal leadership has made a critical contribution to the effective use of information technology throughout the world.”