Charles Simonyi
Co-founder, Intentional Software and space tourist
As if managing the development of Microsoft Word and Excel in the 1980’s wasn’t a good enough item for his resume, Charles Simonyi has just made a trip to, uh, outer space. Yes, he is one of the first space tourists, having spent 11 days on board the International Space Station just last month. He will tell us all about it. Mr. Simonyi, a D regular, is co-founder of Intentional Software. He was hired by Microsoft in 1981, where he hired and managed teams that developed Microsoft Multiplan, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and other best-selling software applications. Born in Budapest, Hungary, he earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley, and a doctorate in computer science from Stanford University. Mr. Simonyi is an avid collector of modern art, enjoys classical music and is an experienced pilot.
