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Rick Belluzzo
Former President & COO of Microsoft
Rick Belluzzo
Former President & COO of Microsoft
Biography
Rick Belluzzo, a son of Italian immigrants, was born in San Francisco and spent his entire childhood in northern California. Belluzzo learned early in life the importance of hard work and ambition. Upon graduating San Francisco’s Golden Gate University, he began his career as a cost account at Hewlett-Packard. He continued at Hewlett-Packard for 23 years, eventually leading 76,000 employees and accounting for over two-thirds of the company revenue.
Belluzzo made his mark at HP leading the HP hardcopy and imaging business, which grew from an insignificant market position to become the industry leader in printers, digital imaging, copiers, and virtually every product that involved creating a printed document. This transition resulted from new printing innovations applied to traditional products and ultimately altered the industry. Belluzzo was then promoted to executive vice president for all of HP’s computer products and services.
After gaining a reputation as a leader who can transform technology companies, Belluzzo became CEO of SGI where he worked to stabilize and redirect the company. In 1999, he was recruited to join Microsoft as a group vice president of the consumer business. Here, Belluzzo refocused a struggling business unit into a few critical areas that would be the basis for future Microsoft growth opportunities. The most notable success was the development and launch of the X-Box gaming system. He was later promoted to president and COO, responsible for running the day-to-day business operations of the company.
In 2002, Belluzzo left Microsoft and became the chairman and CEO of Quantum Corporation, a leader in data storage. He led the company through a major transition from an OEM supplier of storage devices to a leader in storage systems for data protection. The change was driven by product innovation and by repositioning the company for transformation and growth.
After nine years as chairman and CEO of Quantum, Belluzzo transitioned the CEO role to his successor. Since departing Quantum in 2012, he has taken on several new roles, including chairman of JDSU, strategic advisor for the Gores Group, and vice chairman and advisor for Bravosolution, a European supply chain software and services company. He also serves on several public company boards and invests time as a mentor in helping young entrepreneurs build their businesses. In 2015 he started with Innogest SGR SpA as US Venture Partner.
In 2013, Belluzzo co-authored Hard Headed and Softhearted: Lessons from the Boardroom to the Break Room, in which he shares a series of principles built around the view that sustainable success requires developing practices that embrace both IQ and EQ to achieve results.
Throughout his career, Belluzzo has made a name for himself by managing through demanding change. He focuses on transforming businesses, which has become the foundation for his involvement in consulting and speaking.
Speaker Videos
Building Business: People, Persistence, & Innovation
Business is All About People
Speech Topics
Cultural Transformation: Principles for Success
Many companies and organizations are struggling to respond to the challenges brought about by disruption and change. New technology, competition, changing regulations, and shifting business models are but a few of the forces that can result in disappointing results and even failure. Often the challenge begins with a culture that was not developed to reflect these new demands and unable to innovate and capitalize on new opportunity.
Belluzzo will lead the audience through a series of principles that he has found to be effective in tackling this problem. These principles are based on specific experiences developed while working in the technology industry and driving cultural change that can become the basis for a world-class company, built for a modern environment. These case studies will capture his experiences at Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, SGI, Quantum, and other companies where efforts to transform a culture was a critical priority.
Leading a Business Transformation
In the fall of 2009, Rick Belluzzo was asked to speak to leaders of the UK National Health System, as they began to embark on massive change as a result of a significant and permanent decline in the government funding for healthcare. Out of this two-hour seminar, Belluzzo has brought together a collection of "lessons learned" on leading organizations through transformation. These lessons can be applied to businesses and organizations in all industries and organizations - large and small.
The material is presented in a positive manner reinforced by successful outcomes. It captures all critical aspects of leading change from business strategy, execution, innovation, and leading people.
Hard Headed & Soft Hearted: A Lifetime of Success
In today's ultra competitive, fast changing business environment, the path to success and achievement requires a long-term approach that is creative, yet grounded in a set of enduring principles. Rick Belluzzo has shared his experience and principles for success to large audiences around the world. These principles are based on his personal story - growing up in an immigrant family and achieving success at the highest level of several global corporations.
These principles are intended to both challenge and motivate people to expand their career horizon.
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