Rick Belluzzo

As a child, Rick Belluzzo was told that he wasn't a "most-likely-to-succeed kind of guy," nor was he "college-grade material." Proving everyone wrong, he attended Golden Gate University, graduating with an accounting degree. He went on to lead several Fortune 500 companies including Hewlett-Packard, Silicon Graphics, Inc., and Microsoft Corporation. Currently the executive chairman of Quantum Corporation, Belluzzo, the son of Italian immigrants has illustrated how even someone who is faced with opposition can succeed — all it takes is a little ambition.

A 25-year tech industry veteran, Belluzzo was named "Rocket Rick" as a result of his meteoric rise to Executive Vice President at Hewlett-Packard, where he led the printer business to massive success, followed by his climb to CEO at Silicon Graphics, Inc. While at Microsoft, Belluzzo was responsible for guiding the company's business strategy and directing business operations and development, and is credited as the force behind the growth of Microsoft's .NET, XBox, and MSN efforts. He stepped down as COO of Microsoft in May of 2002.

That same year, Belluzzo accepted the position of CEO at Quantum, seeing it as an opportunity to turn a small but well-known company into a high-profile powerhouse. He achieved success in this goal by combining his innovative managerial style with the solid foundation and team-oriented culture of Quantum.

An expert in adapting and establishing a corporation’s culture, Belluzzo helps lead organizations through change and shows them how to work through the cultural factors that make it difficult. Belluzzo’s extensive experience, both on a national and global scale, allows him to teach what you can’t learn in a classroom: hands-on experience with change, reorganization, and management. His reputation as one of the world's most respected corporate leaders has made him a regular keynote speaker at the huge Get Motivated seminars and at conferences around the world.