People

Michael Saylor

Michael Saylor

Formal First Name
Michael
Dates
2/4/1965 - present
Location

Michael Saylor is the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of MicroStrategy, a global leader in enterprise analytics and mobility software. He established the company at age 24, combining his passions for technology, business, and the use of computer simulations. Saylor has become one of the most known multibillionaires of the dot-com bubble, all thanks to his stake in MicroStrategy. He fell from the billionaire ranks after questionable accounting led to a restatement of financial results and the dot-com bust crashed the stock. Saylor recently rose to prominence again owing to his timely bitcoin investments.

Professional Experience


Academic History

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

  • Saylor was born to a military family in Lincoln, Nebraska.
  • He spent his childhood living on various U.S. Air Force bases around the world.
  • By his teenage years, his family had settled at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
  • He graduated from high school first in his class, served as both class marshal and valedictorian, and was voted most likely to succeed by his peers.
  • He attended MIT on a full Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship.
  • While studying system dynamics at the MIT Sloan School of Management, he became fascinated by the application of computer simulation technology to public policy and business strategy.
  • He graduated in 1987 with the highest honors from MIT.


AIR FORCE

  • Saylor has successfully completed flight officer training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
  • He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.
  • He joined the Air Force Reserve and began a career in consulting, with a focus on constructing computer simulations to support strategic decision-making at companies such as DuPont, Dow, and Exxon.


NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Saylor is a named inventor on more than 40 patents.
  • He is credited as the inventor of relational analytics.
  • He led MicroStrategy into the fields of web analytics, distributed analytics, mobile analytics, cloud computing, mobile identity, and the internet of things.
  • He was the creator and founder of Alarm.com, one of the first home automation and security companies, and Angel.com, one of the first cloud-based interactive voice response service providers.
  • In October 2020, he disclosed he personally bought 17,732 bitcoins for $175 million.

  • He helped trigger the institutional bitcoin boom in December 2020, when MicroStrategy's bitcoin ownership crossed the $1 billion milestone.


PHILANTHROPY

  • Saylor established The Saylor Foundation in 1999, which has donated millions to philanthropic causes including children's health, refugee relief, education, environmental conservation, and support for the arts.
  • He founded and serves as a trustee for the Saylor Academy, which offers free college education and continuing professional development courses to students worldwide.
  • He participated in the Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy in 2015 and 2016.


MEDIA AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

  • Saylor travels 175,000 miles per year to more than 60 cities and 25 countries to share his perspectives on enterprise analytics and mobility with technology and business audiences.
  • He has appeared as a guest on Real Vision.