“Technology has an exponential path in front of it, meaning it has the ability to propel science, medicine, business, social issues and personal interactions in ways that are increasingly important to society and our own everyday lives.”

-Cloud Computing, March 4, 2010

Updated: Jan. 4, 2013

Steve Ballmer is CEO of Microsoft Corp., headquartered in Redmond, Washington. He joined Microsoft in 1980 and was the company’s first business manager. Before becoming CEO in 2000, his roles at Microsoft included senior vice president of sales and support, senior vice president of systems software, and vice president of marketing.

Ballmer and the company's business and technical leaders focus on delivering devices and services that people love and businesses need. Under his leadership, Microsoft has more than tripled revenue and doubled profits since 2000.

Ballmer was born in March 1956, and he grew up near Detroit, where his father worked as a manager at Ford Motor Co. Ballmer lived down the hall from fellow sophomore Bill Gates at Harvard University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics. He worked for two years at Procter & Gamble Co. as an assistant product manager and attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business before joining Microsoft.