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Thomas Siebel

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Thomas Siebel
Siebel in 2013
Born
Thomas M. Siebel

(1952-11-20) November 20, 1952 (age 71)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (BA, MBA, MS)
Occupation(s)Software developer and businessman
Known forFounder of Siebel Systems
C3.ai Inc
SpouseStacey Siebel
Children4
RelativesJennifer Siebel Newsom (second cousin once removed)
WebsiteThomas M. Siebel

Thomas M. Siebel (/ˈsiːbəl/; born November 20, 1952) is an American billionaire businessman, technologist, and author. He was the founder of enterprise software company Siebel Systems and is the founder, chairman, and CEO of C3.ai, an artificial intelligence software platform and applications company.[1]

He is the chairman of First Virtual Group, a diversified holding company with interests in investment management, commercial real estate, agribusiness, and philanthropy.[2]

Early life and education

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Siebel was born in Chicago, one of seven children of Arthur Francis Siebel, a Harvard-educated lawyer, and Ruth A. (née Schmid) Siebel.[3][4][5] Siebel is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he received a BA in history, an MBA, an MS in computer science,[6] and an honorary doctorate of engineering.[7]

Business career

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Between 1984 and 1990, Siebel was an executive at Oracle Corporation, where he held a number of management positions.[8][9] Siebel served as chief executive officer of Gain Technology, a multimedia software company that merged with Sybase in December 1992.[9] Siebel was the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Siebel Systems,[10] which was acquired by Oracle in January 2006.[11] Siebel is the chairman of First Virtual Group, a diversified holding company.[2]

Siebel Systems

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Siebel Systems was a software company primarily engaged in the design, development, marketing, and support of customer relationship management (CRM) applications. As an executive at Oracle Corporation, Siebel proposed the idea of creating enterprise software applications tailored for marketing, sales, and customer service functions. Oracle management declined his proposal. In 1993, Siebel left Oracle and found Siebel Systems to pursue that opportunity.[12] In 1999, Siebel Systems became the fastest-growing technology company in the United States.[13] Siebel Systems grew to over 8,000 employees in 32 countries, more than 4,500 corporate customers, and annual revenue greater than $2 billion before merging with Oracle in January 2006.[14]

Management philosophy

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In 2019, Siebel initiated a program at C3.ai that pays 100 percent of the costs for employees to complete an online master's degree of computer science (MCS) program from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Employees who complete the MCS degree receive a salary increase of 15 percent, a cash bonus of $25‚000, and additional stock options.[15]

Honors and awards

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Siebel serves on the Board of Advisors of the Stanford University College of Engineering, the University of Illinois College of Engineering, and the University of California, Berkeley College of Engineering.[16][17] He is a Director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University,[18] and is the Chairman of the Board for the American Agora Foundation.[19] He was a member of the Trustees of Princeton University from 2008 to 2011.[20] He is the Founder and Chairman of the Montana Meth Project[21] and the Siebel Scholars Foundation,[22] and Chairman of the Siebel Foundation. He was ranked #5 and #3 of the world's top 25 philanthropists by Barron's Magazine in 2009 and 2010, respectively.[23][24] In 2007 and 2008, he was named one of The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists by BusinessWeek.[25]

Philanthropy

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In 2001, Siebel donated $32 million to his alma mater, the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to build the Siebel Center for Computer Science, opened in spring 2004.[26] In 2006, Siebel donated $4 million to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to establish two endowed full professorships, the Thomas M. Siebel Chair in the History of Science and the Thomas M. Siebel Chair in Computer Science.[27] Siebel pledged an additional $100 million gift to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2007.[28] In 2015, the Siebel Foundation launched the Siebel Energy Institute to research the data management of energy infrastructure monitoring data.[29] In 2016, Siebel donated $25 million to build the Siebel Center for Design at the University of Illinois, a 60,000-square-foot multidisciplinary hub designed by architects Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and was completed in 2020.[30] In 2024, Siebel donated $50 million to the University of Illinois to establish the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science[31]

Political involvement

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In February 2022, Siebel donated $90,000 to the Canada convoy protest in Ottawa, that also blocked border crossings between Canada and the U.S. to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.[32][33][34]

In 2024, Siebel donated $500,000 to Donald Trump.[35]

Personal life

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He is married to Stacey Siebel.[3] They have four children and live in Woodside, California. Siebel is the second cousin once removed of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the First Partner of California and wife of Governor Gavin Newsom.[36]

Siebel currently has the highest personal CO2 emissions from private jet use of any American, as of 2022.[37]

Elephant incident

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On the morning of August 1, 2009, he and a guide were in Tanzania, observing a group of elephants from 200 yards away, when an elephant charged Siebel's guide and then turned on Siebel, breaking several ribs, goring him in the left leg, and crushing the right.[38][39] They radioed for help, but it was three hours before he received any medical treatment.[38] He was flown to the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, where they cleaned his wounds and stabilized his leg. He was then flown back to the United States on a 20-hour flight with only 10 hours of morphine and 15 hours of fluids. He had lost half of his fluids and was put in the intensive care unit.[40] He was moved to Stanford Hospital where, over the next six months, they performed 11 surgeries, fixed his ribs and shoulder, and saved his left leg.[39]

In September 2010, a year after the attack, Siebel had undergone 16 surgeries and an Ilizarov apparatus external fixator to mend, lengthen, and reshape the tibia of his right leg.[40] After 19 reconstructive surgeries over two and a half years, Siebel has now made a full recovery.[41] In 2013, National Geographic included Siebel's account in its TV series Dead or Alive: Trampled on Safari.[42]

Books and articles

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  • Digital Transformation (2019)[43] ISBN 1948122480
  • “Digital Transformation: The Post-Industrial Utility” (Aspenia Magazine, June 2018)[44]
  • “Why digital transformation is now on the CEO’s shoulders” (McKinsey Quarterly, December 2017)[45]
  • “The Internet of Energy” (Electric Perspectives, March/April 2015)[46]
  • “Big Data and the Smart Grid: Is Hadoop the Answer?” (Stanford Energy Journal, October 21, 2014)[47]
  • Taking Care of eBusiness (2001) ISBN 0-385-50227-3
  • Cyber Rules (with Pat House) (1999)[48] ISBN 0385494122
  • Virtual Selling (with Michael Malone) (1996)[49] ISBN 0684822873

References

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  1. ^ Nusca, Andrew (February 25, 2016). "Tom Siebel, Tech Pioneer, Bets Big on the Internet of Things". Fortune. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Develpixel. "First Virtual Group". Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b Chicago Tribune: "Obituary - Siebel, Ruth A." January 27, 2006
  4. ^ Wilmette Public Library newspapers Wilmette Life (Wilmette, Illinois), 17 Nov 1955, p. 1 retrieved April 2, 2013
  5. ^ "Full text of "Brown alumni monthly"". May 1987. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  6. ^ Businessweek: "TOM SIEBEL--CEO, Siebel Systems Inc." By Gabrielle Saveri August 14, 1997
  7. ^ University of Illinois News Release: "Four Chosen to Receive Honorary Degrees at U. of I. May Commencement" By Sharita Forrest February 16, 2006
  8. ^ Top Tech Execs: Tom Siebel, Forbes
  9. ^ a b Tom Siebel, Fast Company
  10. ^ Siebel, Tom; Fryer, Bronwyn (1 March 2001). "High-Tech the Old-Fashioned Way: An Interview with Tom Siebel of Siebel Systems". Harvard Business. Harvard Business School. Retrieved February 13, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Wynne, Bob; Bessinger, Krista (January 31, 2006). "Oracle Completes Acquisition Of Siebel" (Press release). Oracle Corporation. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  12. ^ Hawn, Carleen. "The Man Who Sees Around Corners". Forbes. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  13. ^ Saracevic, Alan (16 November 1999). "Siebel Systems is nations fastest- growing tech firm". sfgate.com. Hearst. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Interview with Thomas M. Siebel". Leaders Online. Leaders Magazine. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  15. ^ Adams, Susan. "Billionaire Tom Siebel Is Offering His Employees The Most Generous Education Benefit Ever". Forbes. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  16. ^ Stanford University Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "News Archive » Department of Business Administration". archive.is. 11 September 2011. Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  18. ^ Hoover Institution Archived 2009-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ American Agora Foundation Archived 2009-06-07 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Princeton University, September 23, 2011
  21. ^ "The Meth Project". Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  22. ^ "A Class Apart: About the Siebel Scholars Program". Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  23. ^ The 25 Best Givers 2009, Barron's
  24. ^ The 25 Best Givers 2010 Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine, Barron's
  25. ^ The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists Archived 2007-11-18 at archive.today, BusinessWeek
  26. ^ Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science Archived 2005-04-04 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ Thomas M. Siebel Chair Archived 2013-02-17 at archive.today
  28. ^ U of I announces record $100 million gift from Alumnus Thomas Siebel Archived 2007-09-23 at the Wayback Machine, University of Illinois
  29. ^ Tilley, Aaron (August 5, 2015). "Tech Billionaire Tom Siebel Launches Institute To Tackle Proliferation Of Power Grid Data". Forbes. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  30. ^ Kaler, Robin. "Alumnus Siebel Donates $25 Million For Innovative Design Center". cs.illinois.edu. University of Illinois. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  31. ^ "Grainger Engineering Announces Siebel School of Computing and Data Science". College of Education University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
  32. ^ Woodward, Jon (February 11, 2022). "Anonymous donations to convoy as high as $215,000 concern Canadian MPs". CTV News. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  33. ^ "Hackers Just Leaked the Names of 92,000 'Freedom Convoy' Donors". Vice News. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  34. ^ McIntire, Mike; Keller, Michael H. (February 15, 2022). "Canadians are responsible for roughly half of the money raised online for the trucker convoy, leaked data shows". The New York Times. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  35. ^ Bender, Michael C. (30 June 2024). "To Woo Trump, VP Contenders Show Off Their Rich Friends". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  36. ^ Maddan, Heather. "Girlfriend, uninterrupted / Actress Jennifer Siebel is standing by her man, who happens to be Mayor Gavin Newsom, and says there's no trouble in their romance". SFGATE. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  37. ^ "Billionaire Beware". Mother Jones. February 19, 2023. Retrieved 15 Mar 2023.
  38. ^ a b Tech mogul Tom Siebel injured by elephant, by Julia Prodis Sulek and Brandon Bailey, The Mercury News, 09/03/2009
  39. ^ a b A Golfer Never Forgets, by Jerry Tarde, Golf Digest, July 2010
  40. ^ a b Tom Siebel On Being Gored By An Elephant, as told to Steven Bertoni, Forbes magazine, 10/11/2010
  41. ^ Thomas Siebel, Forbes magazine, 6/26/14
  42. ^ Trampled on Safari, National Geographic, 6/26/14
  43. ^ Siebel, Thomas M. (9 July 2019). Digital Transformation. Rodin Books. ISBN 978-1948122481.
  44. ^ "Charging ahead: the energy transition". aspeninstitute.it. Aspen Institute Italia. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  45. ^ Siebel, Thomas. "Why digital transformation is now on the CEO's shoulders". mckinsey.com. McKinsey & Co. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  46. ^ Siebel, Thomas. "The Internet of Energy". libraries.swbts.edu. Electric Perspectives. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  47. ^ Siebel, Thomas. "Big Data and the Smart Grid: Is Hadoop the Answer? (archive copy)". sej.stanford.edu. Stanford University. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  48. ^ Siebel, Thomas M.; House, Pat (1999). Cyber Rules. Currency/Doubleday. ISBN 0385494122.
  49. ^ Siebel, Thomas M.; Malone, Michael Shawn; Malone, Michael (1996). Virtual Selling. Free Press. ISBN 0684822873.
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