2007.08.31: August 31, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Swaziland: Business: Internet: Movies: Entrepreneurship: Pickens: Wikipedia: Creative Commons: Wikipedia: Wikipedia Biography of RPCV Reed Hastings by Peru RPCV Hugh Pickens
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Wikipedia Biography of RPCV Reed Hastings by Peru RPCV Hugh Pickens
Businessman and Internet Visionary Reed Hastings of California, the founder of Netflix, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Swaziland.
Wikipedia Biography of RPCV Reed Hastings by Peru RPCV Hugh Pickens
Reed Hastings
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Reed Hastings at the Web 2.0 Conference 2005.
Reed Hastings at the Web 2.0 Conference 2005.
Reed Hastings (Wilmot Reed Hastings, Jr.) is the founder of Netflix. He is currently Netflix's chief executive officer, president and chairman of the board, and was the founder of Pure Software. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Microsoft Corp.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Early Life and Education
* 2 Peace Corps Service
* 3 Entrepreneurship and Business Interests
o 3.1 Founded Pure Software
o 3.2 Founded Netflix
o 3.3 Joined Microsoft Board of Directors
* 4 Education and Political Interests
* 5 References
* 6 External links
[edit] Early Life and Education
Hastings grew up in the Washington D.C. and Boston, Massachusetts areas, and attended high school at the Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father was a lawyer who once served in the Nixon administration, serving as general counsel in the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
He studied mathematics at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and won its mathematics department's Smyth Prize in 1981. He received his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College in 1983.
He earned a master's degree in computer science from Stanford University in 1988.
[edit] Peace Corps Service
Hastings taught mathematics as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Swaziland from 1983 to 1985 and credits part of his entrepreneurial spirit to his time in the Peace Corps. "I joined the Peace Corps after graduate school and went to teach high school math in Swaziland, out of a combination of service and adventure. It was an extremely satisfying experience. Taking smart risks can be very gratifying. Guessing right is a skill developed over time. Not all smart risks work out, but many of them do." [1] "Once you have hitchhiked across Africa with ten bucks in your pocket, starting a business doesn't seem too intimidating." [2]
[edit] Entrepreneurship and Business Interests
[edit] Founded Pure Software
In 1991 he founded his first company, Pure Software, which grew to one of the fifty largest public software companies by 1997, when it merged with Atria. Later that year, the combined company, Pure Atria, was acquired by Rational Software. Rational was subsequently acquired by IBM in 2003. Hastings credits his experience with Pure software to learning to be a businessman. "I founded Pure Software in 1991 around a debugging tool for engineers; I was an engineer myself. We doubled our revenue every year, but my transformation from engineer to CEO was when Morgan Stanley took the company public in 1995." [3]
[edit] Founded Netflix
In 1998 Hastings founded Netflix, the largest online DVD rental service, offering flat rate rental-by-mail to customers in the United States. Headquartered in Los Gatos, California, Netflix has amassed a collection of 80,000 titles and over 6.8 million subscribers. [1] Hastings said that he had no idea when he founded Netflix if customers would use the service. "Netflix was originally a single rental service, but the subscription model was one of a few ideas we had--so there was no Aha! moment. Having unlimited due dates and no late fees has worked in a powerful way and now seems obvious, but at that time we had no idea if consumers would even build and use an online queue." [4]
[edit] Joined Microsoft Board of Directors
On March 26, 2007, Microsoft announced that Hastings was elected to the their board of directors.[2] "Reed’s track record for delivering innovative and disruptive technologies to market is very impressive,' said Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. 'With his rich consumer and technology background, he will be a tremendous addition to our board." [5]
[edit] Education and Political Interests
A self-avowed Democrat, Hastings is active in educational philanthropy and politics. He is a founding member of NewSchools.org, Aspire Public Schools, Pacific Collegiate School, and EdVoice.net. He led the successful drive in 1998 for a stronger charter school law. He is a member of Technology Network (TechNet), where he served as CEO for a year. In 2000, he joined with the California Teachers' Association, Governor Gray Davis, John Doerr, and others to win the battle for easier passage of local school construction bonds.
He served as President of the California State Board of Education for two terms under Gray Davis. Although Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger nominated Hastings to serve for another term, the California State Legislature rejected him in January of 2005.[3]
On August 1, 2007 the Los Angeles Times reported that Hastings had donated $1 million to a committee formed to support California State Superintendent of Schools Jack O'Connell's candidacy for Governor of California in 2010. [6]
[edit] References
1. ^ Netflix Facts. Netflix. Retrieved on 2 March 2007.
2. ^ Microsoft Board of Directors Adds New Member and Declares Quarterly Dividend. PRNewswire.com (2007-03-26). Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
3. ^ O'Connell on Reed Hastings - Year 2005. California Department of Education (2005-01-12). Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
[edit] External links
* Reed Hastings biography at Netflix.com
* Reed Hastings article on the Peace Corps Online site
* Reed Hastings article on charter schools
* Reed Hastings interview on National Public Radio
* Part of Business 2.0's List of "10 people who don't matter"
* Part of Time's 100 Most Influential People"
* Reed Hastings' Blog
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: August, 2007; RPCV Reed Hastings (Swaziland); Figures; Peace Corps Swaziland; Directory of Swaziland RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Swaziland RPCVs; Business; Internet; Movies; Entrepreneurship; RPCV Hugh Pickens (Peru); Wikipedia; California
When this story was posted in August 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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Story Source: Wikipedia
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Swaziland; Business; Internet; Movies; Entrepreneurship; Pickens; Wikipedia; Creative Commons
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