Ray Ozzie -Chief Software Architect

Ray Ozzie, the creator of IBM Corp.’s Lotus Notes, is an industry visionary and pioneer in computer-supported cooperative work.

On June 15, 2006, Ozzie assumed the title of Microsoft chief software architect previously held by Chairman Bill Gates, and is working side by side with Gates on all technical architecture and product oversight responsibilities in anticipation of Gates’ departure from a day-to-day role in Microsoft in July 2008. At Microsoft, Ozzie previously held the position of chief technical officer from April 2005 until June 2006. Ozzie is the founder of Groove Networks Inc., a leading provider of collaboration software for the virtual office, which Microsoft acquired in April 2005.

Before founding Groove Networks in October 1997, Ozzie was the founder and president of Iris Associates Inc. There he created and led the initial development of Lotus Notes. Before Iris, Ozzie was instrumental in the development of Lotus Symphony and Software Arts Inc.’s TK!Solver and VisiCalc, and was involved in early distributed operating systems development at Data General Corp.

Ozzie earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and has been honored as a distinguished alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was first exposed to the nature and significance of collaborative systems and computer-supported cooperative work. This significantly influenced his perspective on collaborative systems and the projects he has undertaken throughout his career.

Ozzie is honored as one of seven Windows® Pioneers by Microsoft, was named Person of the Year in 1995 by PC Magazine, and was inducted into the Computer Museum Industry Hall of Fame as well as the InfoWorld Hall of Fame. In November 2000, he received the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society’s W. Wallace McDowell Award. He has served as a member of the National Research Council’s Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, and was a member of the NRC committee that produced the landmark CRISIS report on the societal impact of cryptography, a computer security technology. Ozzie is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and was honored as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer in 2001.