Steve Ballmer is co-founder of Ballmer Group and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA basketball team. Ballmer retired as CEO of Microsoft in 2014 after leading the company for nearly 14 years.
Ballmer became Microsoft’s CEO in 2000, having served for 20 years in various roles. During his tenure, Microsoft grew to almost $80 billion in revenue and was the third most profitable company in the United States.
Ballmer also leads USAFacts, a project seeking to improve transparency in government, including disclosing taxes and borrowings raised, money allocated and spent, and outcomes achieved, much as corporations do through their 10-K reports. In addition, he has taught or lectured on technology, leadership, and innovation at Stanford, Harvard, and the University of Southern California.
He grew up near Detroit, where his father worked as a manager at Ford Motor Company. Ballmer earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from Harvard University and attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business.