This year marks the 65th year of the Fortune 500 list. These companies represent a significant amount of wealth, approximately two-thirds of US GDP with $13.7 trillion in revenue and employing 28.7 million people worldwide.
Among this year’s list is an array of tech companies, each recognized for total revenue in its respective fiscal year. While revenue numbers and market values can certainly be interesting, it's also worth getting to know the faces behind the Fortune 500 tech companies on this year’s list.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple
Tim Cook joined Apple in March 1998, where he first worked as senior vice president for worldwide operations and later serving as the executive vice president for worldwide sales and operations. Prior to Steve Jobs’ death in October 2011, Cook became Apple’s chief executive officer.
Before joining Apple, Cook served as vice president of corporate materials for Compaq. He was also the chief operating officer of the reseller division at Intelligent Electronics and spent 12 years at IBM leading manufacturing and distribution functions for IBM’s personal computer company in North America and Latin America.
Cook has also served on the boards of directors of Nike, the National Football Foundation and is a trustee of Duke University.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet
Sundar Pichai took the reins as CEO of Alphabet in December 2019. Pichai joined Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., as a member of its management executive team in 2004. Pichai continued climbing the ranks at Google, becoming the company's product chief. He was then named as Google's CEO in 2015, as part of the restructuring process that made Alphabet Inc. into Google's parent company.
Pichai got his start at Google leading the Google Chrome and Chrome OS product management teams. Pichai was also largely responsible for managing the development and deployment of Google Drive. Pichai later went on to oversee the development of other applications such as Gmail and Google Maps.
Pichai is known to be more focused on results than on ego as CEO. As a result, his popularity has soared. As one Googler on Quora put it, "He is literally worshipped inside Google. Engineers love him. Product Managers love him. Business people love him."
Satya Narayana Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
Satya Narayana Nadella succeeded Steve Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft in 2014. Before rising to the position of CEO at Microsoft, Nadella held leadership roles in enterprise and consumer businesses within the company.
Originally joining Microsoft in 1992, Nadella became known among employees as a leader who could transform some of Microsoft’s biggest product offerings.
In his most recent role prior to being CEO, Nadella served as executive vice president of Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise group. In his time as VP, he led the transformation to the cloud infrastructure and services business. Nadella has also led R&D for the online services division and was vice president of the Microsoft business division.
Michael S. Dell, CEO & Founder of Dell Technologies
Michael Dell’s story as CEO of Dell Technologies started in 1984 when, at 19 years old, he founded the company with $1,000 in his pocket. Quoted as saying that “technology is about enabling human potential,” Dell became the youngest CEO ever to earn a ranking on the Fortune 500 in 1992.
With revenues of $92 billion and upward of 157,000 team members, Dell Technologies has come to be one of the world’s largest IT companies serving the needs of global corporations, governments, small businesses and consumers.
In 1999, Dell and his wife Susan Dell established the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Dell is also an honorary member of the foundation board of the World Economic Forum, a member of the Technology CEO Council and the Business Roundtable. He is also a board member of Catalyst and has served as the United Nations Foundation's first Global Advocate for Entrepreneurship.
Virginia M. (Ginni) Rometty, CEO of IBM
Virginia M. Rometty became CEO of IBM in January 2012. Since that time, she has led IBM through quite the transformation. With a focus on AI, blockchain, cybersecurity and quantum technologies, IBM has become a leader in AI and cloud computing for businesses under Rometty’s leadership.
Getting her start at IBM in 1981, Rometty held a series of leadership positions before becoming CEO. Rometty is well-known for leading the successful integration of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting, effectively creating a global team of more than 100,000 business consultants and services experts.
On April 6, 2020, Rometty will retire as president and CEO of IBM but will remain as an executive chairman of the board for the remainder of the year.
Robert (Bob) Swan, CEO of Intel
Intel Corporation announced its board of directors had named Robert (Bob) Swan CEO in January 2019. Before becoming CEO, Swan served as Intel’s interim CEO for seven months and as chief financial officer since 2016.
As Intel’s CFO, Swan led the global finance, mergers and acquisitions, investor relations, IT and corporate strategy divisions. Prior to joining Intel, Swan served as an operating partner at General Atlantic. He was also on Applied Materials’ board of directors and previously spent nine years as CFO of eBay.
Enrique Lores, President & CEO of HP
In 2019, HP announced its board had unanimously appointed Enrique Lores the company’s president and CEO. Prior to taking the CEO role, Lores served as President of the company’s $20 billion imaging, printing and solutions business.
Throughout his 30-year career at HP, Lores has held a many senior leadership positions within HP’s personal systems, print, industrial and services businesses. In 2015, Lores was recognized as a key architect of the separation of Hewlett-Packard Company, one of the largest and most complex corporate separations in business history.
Mark Zuckerberg, Founder & CEO of Facebook
What originally began as a dorm-room project has transformed Mark Zuckerberg into one of the most well-known tech CEOs. Having founded the social networking company Facebook while studying at Harvard University in 2004, Zuckerberg continues to lead the design of the company’s core technology and infrastructure.
Zuckerberg is the founder of companies such as Quibi, Startup:Education and is co-Founder at Breakthrough Energy Coalition. Alongside his wife, Zuckerberg is also the founder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The couple has pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook shares to the initiative, with a focus on two key goals: advancing human potential and promoting equality.
Zuckerberg was named the 2007 Crunchie Award winner for best startup CEO and was Time Magazine’s 2010 Person of the Year. He also won the 2012 Crunchie Award for CEO of the year.
Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco Systems
Chuck Robbins took on the role of Cisco Systems’ CEO in July 2015 and was elected chairman of the board in December 2017. In his 20 years at Cisco, Robbins has filled an array of senior positions throughout the company. Prior to his time at Cisco Systems, Robbins held management positions at Bay Networks and Ascend Communications.
Robbins also serves on the board of directors for BlackRock; as chairman of the US-Japan Business Council; as a member of the International Business Council for the World Economic Forum; on the board of directors for the Business Roundtable; as a board of trustees member for the Ford Foundation; and as a member of the International Council for the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.
Antonio Neri, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Antonio Neri began his time at Hewlett-Packard in 1995 and was appointed CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in 2018. Neri, the successor to Meg Whitman, is recognized as the company's first Latino CEO.
Before taking the CEO position, Neri held numerous leadership positions at Hewlett-Packard Company and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Most recently, Neri served as the executive vice president and general manager of HPE’s Enterprise Group, which included the company’s server, networking, storage and technology services businesses.
Neri also serves as a director of Anthem Inc., a leading health care benefits organization
