Pedro Celis
Encyclopedia
Pedro Celis is a Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft Corporation
.
He has served at the U.S. President
's
Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) from 2003 to 2005.
PITAC advises the president on policies and investments that the federal government should pursue to enhance and maintain the preeminence of the U.S. in information technology.
In 2009 the Hispanic Business Magazine
named him one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States.
.
He worked as an Assistant Professor at the Computer Science Department of Indiana University. He later worked as a software designer at Britton Lee, Inc.
. He worked at Tandem Computers
from 1989 to 1998 where he became Technical Director of the NonStop SQL
team.
At Microsoft since 1998, Celis held several positions in the SQL Server
group, including leading the WinFS
team at its creation and CTO for SQL Server. He joined the Bing organization in 2009 and is considered a senior technical leader in the company.
The Hispanic IT Executive Council named Celis as one of the most influential Hispanics in the IT industry in 2009
and 2010.
He is a board member of Stronger Families and the Washington News Council.
He has climbed Mt. Rainier to benefit the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's
Climb to Fight Breast Cancer
.
He is the founder of the Washington State chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly
and served as its first chairman from 2001 to 2005. From 2005 to 2007 he served as National Chairman of the RNHA.
In the 2008 presidential primary campaign, Celis served as Co-Chair of the Mitt Romney
for President Washington Steering Committee.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
He has served at the U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
's
Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) from 2003 to 2005.
PITAC advises the president on policies and investments that the federal government should pursue to enhance and maintain the preeminence of the U.S. in information technology.
In 2009 the Hispanic Business Magazine
Hispanic Business
Hispanic Business, Inc. is a media company based in Goleta, California, in the United States of America. The firm was founded by Jesús Chavarría in 1979 and its publications are oriented towards Hispanic professionals and entrepreneurs.-Publications:...
named him one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States.
Education and career
Celis graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies (ITESM) and received both a master's degree in Mathematics (1982) and a doctorate in Computer Science (1986) from the University of WaterlooUniversity of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
.
He worked as an Assistant Professor at the Computer Science Department of Indiana University. He later worked as a software designer at Britton Lee, Inc.
Britton Lee, Inc.
Britton Lee Inc. was a pioneering relational database company. Renamed ShareBase, it was acquired by Teradata in June, 1990.-History:Britton Lee was founded in 1979 by David L. Britton, Geoffrey M...
. He worked at Tandem Computers
Tandem Computers
Tandem Computers, Inc. was the dominant manufacturer of fault-tolerant computer systems for ATM networks, banks, stock exchanges, telephone switching centers, and other similar commercial transaction processing applications requiring maximum uptime and zero data loss. The company was founded in...
from 1989 to 1998 where he became Technical Director of the NonStop SQL
NonStop SQL
Nonstop SQL is software that is developed and sold by Hewlett Packard. Nonstop SQL is a commercial relational database management system that is designed for fault tolerance and scalability. The latest version of the product is SQL/MX 3.0. This was released in February 2011.The product was...
team.
At Microsoft since 1998, Celis held several positions in the SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database server, developed by Microsoft: It is a software product whose primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications, be it those on the same computer or those running on another computer across a network...
group, including leading the WinFS
WinFS
WinFS is the code name for a cancelled data storage and management system project based on relational databases, developed by Microsoft and first demonstrated in 2003 as an advanced storage subsystem for the Microsoft Windows operating system, designed for persistence and management of...
team at its creation and CTO for SQL Server. He joined the Bing organization in 2009 and is considered a senior technical leader in the company.
The Hispanic IT Executive Council named Celis as one of the most influential Hispanics in the IT industry in 2009
and 2010.
Other activities
Celis is an organizer, founder and member of the board of directors of Plaza Bank, a Latino business focused bank that opened in 2006 in Seattle, Washington.He is a board member of Stronger Families and the Washington News Council.
He has climbed Mt. Rainier to benefit the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is one of the world’s leading cancer research institutes...
Climb to Fight Breast Cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
.
He is the founder of the Washington State chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly
Republican National Hispanic Assembly
The Republican National Hispanic Assembly is an American political organization founded in 1967 which seeks to promote Hispanic issues and interests within the Republican Party, and the Party's interests and candidates within the Hispanic population...
and served as its first chairman from 2001 to 2005. From 2005 to 2007 he served as National Chairman of the RNHA.
In the 2008 presidential primary campaign, Celis served as Co-Chair of the Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
for President Washington Steering Committee.
External links
- Microsoft PressPass page on Pedro Celis
- Commercial racial profiling: Mexican truckers singled out, Seattle Times, Aug. 27, 2004
- Es Mexicano la base de SQL en Microsoft, El Norte, Sept. 13, 2004 (in Spanish)
- El gurú cibernético de Bush, El Universal, Apr. 29, 2005 (in Spanish)
- Social Security: A Tale of Two Problems, Washington Policy Center, 2005