Michael Dell (b. 1965)

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Biography

Michael Saul Dell is an American billionaire businessman and investor. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Dell Technologies, one of the world's largest technology infrastructure companies.

In Their Own Words (5)

We have a long history here of integrating the technologies closer together. This is what customers have been asking us to do. It is what we are doing. It is working extremely well. There is much, much more to come here.

CRN: "Michael Dell: 'Much, Much More To Come' On Dell EMC VMware Integration" (11 June 2018) , 2018

Every technology creates good and bad. You can sit here and say, "AI is really bad, we shouldn't have AI" - that's nonsense. We have to figure out how to use it in a responsible way, that's our job.

ZDNet: "AI shouldn't be held back by scaremongering: Michael Dell" (02 May 2018) , 2018

You don't have to be a genius or a visionary or even a college graduate to be successful. You just need a framework and a dream.

Entrepreneur: Michael Dell (13 October 2012) , 2012

What would I do [with Apple]? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.

Dell: Apple should close shop in CNET (6 October 1997) , 1997

I do think a founder has special permission to make sweeping changes across an organization.

Forbes: "A Private Conversation with Michael Dell, 'The Man In The Arena'" (30 October 2013) , 2013

Timeline

The story of Michael Dell, told in moments.

1984 Event

Drops out of the University of Texas at Austin as a freshman. He's been upgrading and selling PCs from his dorm room. Registers the company as Dell Computer Corporation. His idea: sell directly to consumers, skip the middlemen. He's 19.

Was dropping out of college to sell PCs from a dorm room terrifying? Did the direct-to-consumer idea feel obvious? Is registering Dell Computer at 19 the boldest move in tech history?

1992 Life

Dell goes public and becomes the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company at 27. Revenue is $890 million. The direct-to-consumer model that critics called unsustainable is crushing Compaq and IBM on margins. He builds to order, carries no inventory.

Was crushing Compaq and IBM on margins satisfying? Did becoming the youngest Fortune 500 CEO at 27 feel surreal? Was the model critics called unsustainable always the right bet?

2013 Event

Takes Dell private in a $24.4 billion leveraged buyout, the largest technology buyout in history. Wall Street said the PC was dead. He disagrees. He pivots to enterprise servers, storage, and cloud infrastructure. Dell's revenue doubles within five years.

Was taking Dell private a bet against Wall Street? Did everyone saying the PC was dead motivate you? Is doubling revenue within five years proof you were right?