David Duffield

For the sports commentator, see David Duffield (sports commentator).
David Duffield

David Duffield (2005)
Born 1941 (age 73–74)
Nationality American
Occupation Chairman of Workday, Inc.
Net worth US$6.9 billion[1]

David Duffield (born 1941) is an American businessman in the software industry. He is the co-founder and former chairman of PeopleSoft, the co-founder and co-CEO at Workday, Inc., and has been on the Forbes World's Richest People list.

Early life

Duffield received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and an MBA from Cornell University, and is the benefactor behind Duffield Hall,[2] a nanoscale science (or nanotechnology) and engineering facility at Cornell. While at Cornell, Duffield was a member of Beta Theta Pi.

Career

Dave Duffield established two mainframe application software companies. He was CEO, chairman, and chief product architect at Integral Systems, the first company to offer DB2-based human resource and accounting systems. He also co-founded Information Associates, which specialized in applications for the higher education market. He began his career at IBM as a marketing representative and systems engineer.

Peoplesoft

Duffield founded PeopleSoft in 1987 and served as the company’s CEO and board chairman. PeopleSoft grew to be the world’s second-largest application software company before being acquired by Oracle in January 2005.[3]

Workday

In March 2005, Duffield and former PeopleSoft vice chair and head of product strategy, Aneel Bhusri, started Workday, a company[4] that provides financial management and human capital management software delivered in a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. The company is headquartered in Pleasanton, Calif., and employed approximately 1,000 people in 2011,[5] with Duffield and Bhusri serving as co-CEOs at Workday. Duffield is also the company's chief customer advocate.[6]

Philanthropy and Maddie's Fund

Duffield is also known for his philanthropic activities on behalf of animals. In 1994, Dave Duffield and his wife, Cheryl, established Maddie's Fund, originally named the Duffield Family Foundation.[7] In January 1999, the Board of Directors restructured the foundation, defined its mission, and adopted the current name.[7] The organization is named after Maddie, a Miniature Schnauzer who was a source of unconditional love and friendship for ten years, and a "lighthouse during the stormy period" of the couple's work careers.[7] Maddie died of cancer in 1997, and Dave Duffield has acted on his earlier promise, "If we ever make some money, I promise we will give it back to you and your kind so others can be as happy as we are today."[8]

The Duffields have endowed Maddie's Fund with more than $300 million, and have spent more than $153 million through fiscal year 2013-2014 to save the lives of dogs and cats.[8] The organization believes that the Duffields have given more of their personal wealth to the animal welfare cause than any other individuals.[8] "And although they don't want to make a big fuss over their unprecedented contribution, they do want to honor their cherished companion and the special bond they shared with her."[8]

Awards

2013 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award Recipient [9]

Personal life

He is married to Cheryl Duffield. The couple deeply loved their Miniature Schnauzer Maddie, who died in 1997.[8]

References

External links