How does a company go from two guys on a farm in 1985 to more than $5 billion in revenue 1996? Hard work, great customers and excellent leadership. Here are the members of Gateway’s executive leadership team.
Senior Vice President
Joseph Burke, Senior Vice President
Robert Cheng, Senior Vice President
James Collas, Senior Vice President
Bill Elliott, Senior Vice President
Michael D. Hammond, Senior Vice President
David McKittrick, Senior Vice President
Robert Spears, Senior Vice President
James A. Taylor, Senior Vice President
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Vice President
Bart Brown, Vice President
Bernard F. Ebert, Vice President
John D. Heubusch, Vice President
G. Eric Larsen, Vice President
Paul Rostron, Vice President
William G. Shea, Vice President
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Board Members
Richard D. Snyder, Director
James Craven, Director
Douglas Lacey, Director
George Krauss, Director
Charles G. Carey, Director
James F. McCann
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Theodore W. Waitt.
Chairman and CEO
Ted Waitt personifies the word "entrepreneur." The 34-year old native of Sioux City, Iowa, has built one of the world's largest personal computer companies.
The story of Gateway 2000 is tied directly to Ted Waitt. In 1985, Gateway 2000 began as a two-person operation in a farm house in Sioux City. The firm racked up sales of $100,000 that first year. Since that time, Gateway 2000 has grown into a multi-national, Fortune 500 company with over 10,000 employees and 1996 sales of $5.04 billion. For the first half of 1997, revenues totaled $2.8 billion on net income of $124 million.
Under Ted Waitt's leadership, Gateway 2000 has emerged as the value and price leader in the very competitive PC industry. Waitt is internationally recognized as one of the leading authorities on technology and is quoted frequently in national publications and seen on news reports and business shows on a number of major media networks.
Corporate headquarters are located in North Sioux City, South Dakota. The company also has offices in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Kansas City, Missouri; Hampton, Virginia; Dublin, Ireland; Yokohama, Japan; Malacca, Malaysia; and Sydney, Australia.
Joseph Burke, Senior Vice President - Joe joined the company in October 1995. In 1997 he became senior vice president for Global Business Development directing strategic and tactical planning, corporate development activities and new business initiatives. He joined Gateway as a vice president for Market Development. Before joining Gateway 2000, Joe spent eight years with Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation, a worldwide home entertainment retailer. At Blockbuster, Joe most recently served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of the International Division. He received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida in 1978.
Robert Cheng, Senior Vice President -- Since late 1997, Rob has served Gateway as senior vice president of Gateway Direct, where he leads marketing, sales and customer support efforts for Gateway’s worldwide direct business. He joined the Company in January 1991 as Director of Marketing and was promoted to Director of Desktop PCs in June 1994. Rob then became Vice President responsible for desktops in May 1995, and Vice President of Americas Marketing in November 1995. In November 1996, Rob was promoted to Managing Director of the Europe/Middle East/Africa division. Before joining Gateway, from 1981 to 1991, Rob served in various capacities in the data systems group of Texas Instruments Incorporated, a computer and electronics company, where he was involved in the sale of digital products in Latin America. He received a B.S. degree in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University in 1981 and an M.B.A. degree from the University of Texas in 1986.
James Collas, Senior Vice President -- Jim joined the company in June 1992 and was responsible for the company's Product Development department. He was promoted to vice president of Product Development in December 1992. In 1994, Jim changed responsibilities to oversee the company's technical services and support operations. Jim was recently named senior vice president responsible for Global Products. Before joining Gateway 2000, Jim was the president of Anigma, Inc., a PC system board and motherboard design and development company which he founded in 1987. Jim received a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1984.
Bill Elliott, Senior Vice President, General counsel, and corporate secretary -- Bill joined the company in May 1994 as vice president and general counsel and was elected corporate secretary in May 1995. Bill was recently named senior vice president and his responsibilities continue to include managing the company's legal affairs and acting as corporate secretary. Before joining Gateway 2000, Bill spent three years as senior vice president of International Telecharge, Inc., a telecommunications company specializing in the public and private pay telephone markets. From 1977 to 1990, Bill was senior vice president and general counsel of Northrop Corporation, an aircraft manufacturing corporation. Bill received a B.A. degree in 1959 and a J.D. degree in 1962 from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and is a member of the bar associations of four states and the District of Columbia.
Michael D. Hammond, Vice President -- Mike co-founded Gateway in 1985 with Ted Waitt and has been employed by the company in various positions since then. He currently serves as senior vice president of Global Manufacturing, providing direction for Gateway’s manufacturing operations around the world. That includes the areas of product manufacturing, logistics and control over materials management and inventory. Prior to becoming senior vice president, Mike served as vice president of Gateway’s Asia/Pacific Group.
David McKittrick, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer -- Dave joined he company in March 1995 as senior vice president and chief financial officer and was elected treasurer in July 1995. Dave's responsibilities include managing the company's financial affairs. Before joining Gateway 2000, Dave spent two years as vice chairman and chief operating officer of Collins®; Aikman Group, Inc., a diversified manufacturing and retail company. Prior to that, Dave was senior vice president and chief financial officer of James River Corporation, a paper and consumer products manufacturer. Dave received a B.S. degree from Hampden-Sydney College in 1967 and an M.B.A. degree from Rutgers University in 1968.
Robert Spears, Senior Vice President -- Bob joined the company in 1990 and has served in a variety of administrative positions. Bob is currently a senior vice president of Gateway Major Accounts, responsible for Gateway’s global major accounts business. Major accounts covers federal, state and local governmental buyers, educational institutions and large corporate buyers. From 1995 to early 1997, Bob served as senior vice president for Gateway’s Americas Group. From 1994 through 1995, Bob served as the managing director of the company's European operations. From 1992 through 1994, he was vice president of Administration, responsible for the company's management information systems, Human Resources and other projects involving the strategic direction of the company. Before joining Gateway 2000, Bob worked for America First Financial Corporation in San Francisco from 1987 to 1990 and for the Bank of America from 1981 to 1985. He received a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College in 1981, a Master's degree in Business Taxation from the University of Southern California in 1985 and an M.B.A. degree from Harvard University in 1987.
James A. Taylor, Senior Vice President -- Jim joined the company in March 1996 as senior vice president responsible for Global Marketing. Before joining Gateway 2000, Jim was executive managing director and general manager of Hill & Knowlton's headquarters office in New York City, where he was involved in corporate marketing, communications and reputation counseling since 1994. From 1992 through 1994, he was executive director and chief executive officer of Yankelovich Partners Inc., and from 1988 through 1992 he was a partner and worldwide marketing director of Ernst & Young LLP. He received a B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1973 and a Masters degree and a Ph.D. degree in Communication from Michigan State University in 1975 and 1978, respectively.
Bart Brown, Vice President -- Bart joined Gateway in 1987 when the company was still known as TIPC Network. He currently serves as Vice President of Marketing, Gateway Direct, responsible for marketing in the Americas region. Bart's previous positions with Gateway include director of desktop marketing, manager of peripheral marketing, manager in manufacturing and general and major account sales.
Bernard F. Ebert, Vice President -- Bern joined Gateway 2000 in February 1996 as Vice President responsible for global planning, procurement and quality. In early 1997, he was named vice president of operations and manufacturing in the Americas region. Before joining the Company, Bern worked for more than twenty years at Texas Instruments Incorporated. At Texas Instruments, he served in numerous management positions involving manufacturing, planning and procurement. He received both his B.A. degree and his M.B.A. degree from Louisiana State University.
John D.Heubusch, Vice President -- John joined Gateway 2000 in January 1997 as vice president of government relations. Heubusch has more than 16 years of experience in governmental positions in Washington. He was Chief of Staff to Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole from 1989 to 1991. He served as Vice President of the American Red Cross from 1991 to 1994. Heubusch most recently served as Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 1995 to 1996.
Eric Larsen, Vice President -- Eric joined Gateway 2000 in January 1997 as director of business development. He is currently Vice President of Global Customer Support, responsible for Gateway's technical support for the Direct and Major Account customers worldwide. Larsen has more than 20 years of experience in technology management most recently at Apple Computer, Inc. where he held various senior-level sales support, sales, and market development posts.
Paul Rostron, Vice President -- Paul joined Gateway in November 1995, as director, global employee relations. He was promoted to the senior human resource executive position in the Americas group in 1996. Paul moved to his current position, Vice President, global organizational development, in August 1997. He's responsible for the corporation's organizational structure and planning, global facility planning and real estate, and site administrative services. Prior to joining Gateway, Paul spent 10 years with Abbott Laboratories, a diversified health care company. There he held various senior human resource management positions at locations in North Chicago, IL, Rocky Mount, NC, Mountain View, CA, and most recently was human resource director at the company's headquarters in Abbott Park, IL. Paul received his B.S. degree from Illinois State University in 1983, and his M.B.A. from the University of Illinois in 1985.
William G. Shea, Vice President -- Bill joined Gateway 2000 in October 1993 as the national sales manager. Bill is currently Vice President, Gateway Global Accounts concerned with developing major account relationships with Gateway’s global corporate customers. Prior to that, Bill was Vice President, U.S. Major Accounts. Before joining the company, from 1991 to 1992, Bill was a Vice President, Sales and General Manager of OPTA Corporation, a manufacturer of high-end computer graphics cards. From 1973 to 1991, Bill held a number of management and executive positions in sales and marketing capacities at IBM Corporation. At IBM, he was involved in sales and marketing of mainframe and personal computer products as well as channel management. He received a B.A. degree in Mathematics from the University of Maine in 1968.
Gateway 2000 Board Members
Richard D. Snyder, Director -- Rick served Gateway for six years, rising to President and Chief Operating Officer before resigning in 1997 to return to his native Michigan and start his own venture capital business. Rick joined Gateway as executive vice president in 1991 and became president and COO in January 1996. Rick served as corporate secretary of the company from July 1991 until May 1995. Before joining Gateway 2000, Rick was employed by Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P., an international accounting firm, from 1982-1991, where he became a partner in 1988 and was in charge of its Chicago mergers and acquisition practice from 1989 through 1991. Rick studied at the University of Michigan, where he earned a B.G.S. with High Distinction in 1977, and M.B.A. with Distinction in 1979 and a J.D. in 1982. Mr. Snyder is a member of the Board's Nominating Committee.
James Cravens, Director -- Jim is the chairman of the board of Sanborn Savings Bank, Dickinson County Savings Bank and Ocheyedan Savings Bank, all located in Northwest Iowa. In addition, Jim serves as chairman of the Dickinson County Memorial Hospital. He attended the University of Iowa and graduated from Drake University. He has been a director of the company since 1991. Jim is a member of the Board's Compensation and Audit Committees.
Douglas Lacey, Director -- Doug is a partner in the accounting firm of Nichols, Rise & company and is managing partner of its Sioux City, Iowa, office. Doug joined Nichols, Rise & company in 1973. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Briar Cliff College in 1973. He has been a director of the company since 1989. Doug is a member of the Board's Compensation and Audit Committees.
George Krauss, Director -- George has been an attorney with the law firm of Kutak Rock in Omaha, Nebraska since 1972 and is engaged in the firm's corporate, mergers and acquisitions and regulatory practices. George became a partner in Kutak Rock in 1975 and served as the firm's presiding partner from 1983 to 1993. George received B.S., M.B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Nebraska. He has been a director of the company since 1991 and currently serves on the Board's Compensation, Audit, and Nominating Committees. George also serves on the Board of Directors of the general partner of America First Financial Fund 1987-A Limited Partnership, which is a publicly-traded limited partnership formed for the purpose of acquiring financial institutions.
Charles G. ("Chase") Carey, Director -- Chase is the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Fox Television Division of Fox Inc., located in Beverly Hills, California. Chase has served in various executive capacities at Fox since 1988. He received a B.A. from Colgate University and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. Chase has been a director of the company since March 1996.
James F. McCann , Director-- Jim is the president of 1-800-FLOWERS, located in Westbury, New York, and has been since 1987. He has been a director of the company since March 1996. Jim serves on the boards of Hofstra University, Winthrop-University Hospital and Very Special Arts and is a member of the Dean's Council of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
