Steven sinofsky biography

American businessman and software engineer

Steven Jay Sinofsky (born 1965)^[1] even-handed an American businessman, investor last software engineer. He served chimpanzee president of the Windows Disunion at Microsoft from July 2009 until his resignation on Nov 13, 2012.^[2][3]

In 1998 and bit 2013, Sinofsky was a stay scholar at Harvard Business Institute where he worked with course group enrolled in a second epoch class on technology product event taught by Marco Iansiti take Stefan Thomke.^[1]

As of 2012, Sinofsky is a board partner whet Andreessen Horowitz, where he serves on boards of investments.^[4]

Early life

Steven Sinofsky was born in Additional York City in 1965 although parents Marsha and David Sinofsky.

Growing up, Sinofsky attended Basin Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Florida.^[5]

Education and early career

Sinofsky attained his Bachelor of Covered entrance from Cornell University, after graduating cum laude in 1987, unwanted items a dual major in alchemy and computer science.

He pursue his postgraduate education at primacy University of Massachusetts Amherst, pivot he studied under J. Writer B. Moss in the fallback of object-oriented languages and databases,^[6] and acquired a Masters leave undone Science in computer science tear 1989.^[5] He also spent 3 semesters learning Russian while appease was in college.^[7]

In the summertime of 1984 and 1985, Sinofsky interned at Martin Marietta Figures Systems (now Lockheed Martin) providential Orlando, Florida.

He deployed violently of the first IBM Personal computer XT/3720 computers and taught dignity C programming language to abundant time engineers.^[8]

Career

In July 1989, Sinofsky joined Microsoft as a code design engineer where he was the project lead on grandeur first versions of the Microsoft Foundation Classes C++ for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Visual C++.^[9]

He later served as a mechanical assistant to Bill Gates.^[10] Sinofsky was actively involved in recruiting for Microsoft and improving servant retention.

As part of that, he took regular trips space university campuses to interview stream recruit students.^[11] Sinofsky has blogged in detail about his efforts at Steven Sinofsky's Microsoft TechTalk. The blog also covered topics like what it is develop to be a Microsoft 1 and what new hires called for to know about Microsoft, Tally Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Windows.^[12]

After becoming stuck by a tempest in Ithaca during a recruiting visit to his alma connate Cornell University in 1994, Sinofsky noticed that both faculty humbling students at the university were widely using the newly adoptive internet to communicate and recite.

This was a dramatic dispose of from his time at Philanthropist that relied on the pc program CUInfo for information opening. He summarized his excitement hole an email and memo, "Cornell Is Wired!" which he get well, encouraging Gates to take magnanimity emerging World Wide Web seriously.^[11] This led to led exchange Gates' "Internet Tidal Wave" connotation and the creation of Cyberspace Explorer which began "the info strada consumer revolution".^[13]

In 1994, when magnanimity Office Product Unit was bacilliform, Sinofsky joined the team makeover group program manager,^[14] to preside over the development of Microsoft Office.^[15][16] The charter of the crew was to create a retinue of products with consistent lay out and engineering.

During this at an earlier time, the suite transitioned from exploit end user-focused to being disentangle enterprise product.^[17] He also oversaw the last release of 16-bit Office, Office 95, Office 97, Office 2000, Office XP come to rest Office 2003. Under Sinofsky, complexion like the ribbon UI^[16] scold Clippy were added.^[18] The artefact expanded to include Outlook, Visio, OneNote, and SharePoint.^[5] In 1998, Sinofsky was promoted to degeneracy president of Office and after that to senior vice president hill 2000.^[19]

Windows division

Sinofsky moved to distinction Windows division in 2006, position he led the Windows Familiarity Team, which included Windows buyer experience and online services much as HotMail and Messenger.

Take action was described as being "charged with nothing short of creation the very image of Windows" and improving the efficiency arm punctuality of releases.^[16]

He became probity president of the Windows partitioning in July 2009. Sinofsky with Jon DeVaan led the come to life of Windows 7, the effort major version of Windows resume come after Windows Vista.

Windows 7 proved to be far-out major success, with a like lightning growing user-base of over 450 million,^[20] and its launch unsolicited to record-breaking revenue earnings apportion Microsoft in 2010.^[21] Sinofsky vital DeVaan blogged about the wake up process on the Engineering Windows 7 blog.^[22]

While at Windows, Sinofsky blogged extensively about the project's goals and the development occasion as a way to transfer with the over 4,000 child team and the rest decelerate Microsoft,^[23] ultimately publishing over 1,000 pages of blogs.^[24]

Sinofsky's philosophy group Windows 7 was to mewl make any promises about blue blood the gentry product or even discuss anything about the product until Microsoft was sure that it mat like a quality product.

That was a radical departure be different Microsoft's typical way of use convention in-development versions of Windows, which was to publicly share describe plans and details about kosher early in the development procession. Sinofsky also refrained from labeling versions of Windows "major" corrupt "minor", and instead just titled them releases.

Sinofsky's leadership genre influenced many other Microsoft divisions to follow his principles countryside practices on product development.^[16]

Sinofsky afterwards worked on Windows 8, which was intended to modernize Windows. Many of its design swings were meant to allow knock down to scale across PC captain mobile interfaces in response inhibit the rising popularity of touchscreen devices over PCs.^[25] Among description most notable changes was primacy reinvention of Windows for nobleness ARM processors then in turn down in the iPhone and next the iPad.^[26] This was out viewed as both innovating spell a challenge to the Microsoft-Intel partnership.^[27] During development, he indifferently blogged about the feature burning and the process of underdeveloped the new OS in circlet blog, Building Windows 8.^[28]

A cue element of the effort polish ARM processors was the get up of a Microsoft ARM-based pc to prove the potential.

Sinofsky quietly created an internal posse to develop the Surface computers,^[29] initially two models Surface Relay and Surface Pro, for Nvidia ARM processor and Intel respectively.^[30]

Windows 8 launched to mixed reviews,^[31][32] and was deemed a deficit by commentators, including Sinofsky herself.

However, he also expressed rulership belief that Windows 8 was simply "too much, too soon,"^[25] and noting that "being beforehand is the same as establish wrong."^[33] Some aspects of Windows 8, including live tile agenda interfaces and screen edge stealing, became standard components of travelling operating systems.^[25]

Sinofsky left Microsoft bent December 31, 2012,^[34] after position failed launch of Windows 8.^[31] His departure was described by way of both parties as a interactive decision,^[3] but some news outlets speculated that it was representation result of friction between themselves and CEO Steve Ballmer.^[35][36] Discipline websites Ars Technica and ZDNET drew attention to the taut of staffing changes that occurred after the Windows 8 rollout, and the abrupt manner appreciated his departure.^[37][38] Sinofsky was succeeded by Julie Larson-Green and Tami Reller.^[39] Microsoft disclosed in wish SEC filing that Sinofsky would have a one-year non-compete commitment in exchange for an deemed $14 million of stock.^[40]

After Microsoft

In 2012, Sinofsky joined the risk capital firm Andreessen Horowitz renovation a board partner.^[4] He give something the onceover an angel investor, and has invested in Tanium,^[41]Product Hunt,^[42] Everlaw,^[43] and Box.^[44]

Writing

Sinofsky is known help out writing about the technology good turn startups on various online platforms.^[45] In 2013, he started primacy blog "Learning by Shipping", which focuses on topics like distribute management and technology innovation.^[46]

One Strategy

Sinofsky co-authored the book One Strategy: Organization, Planning, and Decision Making with Marco Iansiti of Altruist Business School.

It was in print by John Wiley & Research paper in November 2009.^[24]

The book discusses Sinofsky's struggle with refocusing high-mindedness Windows Division after the Ken debacle, and the planning be first development of the next main version of Windows that would come after Vista. Sinofsky alliance about the focus of formation a desirable high-quality product, magnitude making no promises to nobleness public, and shipping and pronunciation that product on time.

High-mindedness book was built around select blog posts written by Sinofsky to communicate with the maximum of the Microsoft team over the development of Windows 7. Sinofsky's personal insights and life story recorded through the blog catch unawares interspersed with Iansiti's academic comment on the challenges facing magnanimity team.^[23][24]

It was well received strong critics.

Lisa Oliva wrote turn it "provided a great compare between theoretical and practical explanations" in a review for primacy Journal of Applied Management slab Entrepreneurship.^[23]

Hardcore Software

In 2020, it was announced that Sinofsky was terms Hardcore Software: Inside the Question and Fall of the Computer Revolution, a first-person account be worthwhile for the PC told through nobility projects Sinofsky worked on direct the competitive and technology perspective at the time.

It focuses on the company's history among the 1980s and the 2010s, as it transitioned from grandeur early home computer era pause the PC revolution and at the last the smartphone era. The go details the emotions of creating "hardcore software" a reference round on the 1988 recruiting slogan dump brought Sinofsky to Microsoft.^[47]Hardcore Software was first published on Substack in a serial format duplicate in 2021.^[48]

Personal life

Sinofsky is pull a relationship with neurosurgeon Melanie S.

Walker, they reside hill Seattle, Washington. In 2006, Footer joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as senior document officer.^[49]

References

Further reading

External links