Mike Ruettgers is retired chairman of the board and special advisor to EMC Corporation, the world leader in products, services and solutions for information management and storage.
Ruettgers, was Chairman of the Board of Directors, leading all facets of EMC's proactive corporate governance, with a special focus on shaping the composition and expertise of EMC's independent and fully engaged Board through the end of 2005. Ruettgers served as Executive Chairman of EMC's Board for three years and completed his tenure in that position in December 2003. He assumed the role of Chairman of the Board on January 1, 2004.
With 2004 revenues of .23 billion, and nearly 24,000 employees worldwide, EMC is the world leader in products, services and solutions for information storage and management that help organizations extract the maximum value from their information, at the lowest total cost, across every point in the information lifecycle.
Ruettgers has been with EMC since 1988, and served as CEO from 1992 until January 2001, leading the company in a decade-long trajectory of accelerating profitable growth. From his arrival through year-end 2000, EMC's revenues grew from 0 million to nearly billion. During the 10-year bull market from October 1990 to October 2000, EMC achieved the highest single-decade performance of any listed stock in the history of the New York Stock Exchange.
During his term as CEO, Ruettgers was named one of the "World's Top 25 Executives" by BusinessWeek; one of the "Best CEOs in America" by Worth magazine; one of the "25 Most Powerful People in Networking" in 2000 by Network World; and "CEO of the Year" for 2000 by Massachusetts Investor's Digest. In 2001, Fast Company magazine named EMC "The World's Most Customer-Centric Company," based on EMC's fanatical devotion to customer service.
Ruettgers has been a frequent speaker at influential venues around the world, including the World Economic Forum, the Economic Club of Detroit, the Executives’ Club of Chicago, Harvard University Nieman Fellows seminars, the Park Distinguished Lecture at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, the INSEAD Global Leaders Series Lecture, the Raytheon Lectureship in Business Ethics at Bentley College, and major IT industry conferences. He is also a frequent contributor of articles on key policy issues, including the urgent need to reform math and science education, the use of digital technologies to improve healthcare, and the responsibility all organizations have to protect and preserve their information.
Ruettgers spent much of his early career with Raytheon, where he played a key role in the Patriot Missile Program. In 1999, Babson College recognized Ruettgers for being an "information age visionary" and presented him with the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. In May 2000, Worcester Polytechnic Institute conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering. In November 2002, Ruettgers was inducted into the Industry Hall of Fame, joining a select group of the innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders who have helped shape and expand the global IT industry.
Ruettgers sits on the Board of Trustees of Lahey Clinic, on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of Holy Cross College, and is a member of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, the Massachusetts High Tech Council, and Business for Better Schools. He holds a BS from Idaho State University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
