Steven Snyder
Encyclopedia
Steven Snyder is a notable figure in high technology management. He was an early employee of Microsoft
where he was Microsoft's first business unit general manager, leading the Development Tool Business. He was also founding CEO of Net Perceptions, a leading company in recommender systems during the late 1990s.
. He
earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Drexel University
and a M.B.A. from
Harvard. He then consulted at Touche Ross & Co
.
responsible for turning around the relationship with IBM
,
which had been faltering over the delivery of an operating system that
could work with the networking features of the upcoming IBM PC-AT
computer . The problem was that as of
1983 Microsoft was slipping behind on its delivery schedule and was
delaying the release of the AT badly. After delivering the news
to IBM on a tough phone call, Snyder and his team got the project
back on schedule and saved the relationship with IBM, which was
crucial to Microsoft at that time in its history .
Snyder was then promoted to be the first general manager in Microsoft history,
with responsibility for the Development Tool Business, helping develop
the products into industry leaders, as evidenced by winning the PC
Magazine annual awards competition two years in a row .
Psychology at the University of Minnesota. His thesis was Task Strategy Development during Transition to Self-Managing Work Teams.
While working on his dissertation at Minnesota, he consulted with a
company called Personnel Decisions International (PDI),
which helps companies develop the talent of their employees. At PDI
Snyder helped the company develop a computer-based coaching program
that would enable leaders to develop specific leadership
competencies. The product had an innovative user interface for
presenting the components of leadership development: assessment,
a personalized development plan, and an everyday learning process.
These ideas became the basis of a US patent, held by PDI .
group. He quickly saw the commercial potential for their technology, known as collaborative filtering
, a form
of recommender system, and discussed the possibility of forming a company around the technology. Snyder argued that a research group from MIT had formed a company
in 1995 that was already commercializing collaborative filtering, and
that the window of opportunity was closing. (The MIT company would later
become Firefly
). The
team of Snyder, Brad Miller, John Riedl, Joe Konstan, and David
Gardiner founded Net Perceptions in May 1996, and licensed the technology
from the University of Minnesota in June 1996. Soon after they
received initial funding from Hummer Winblad Venture Partners
.
Led by Snyder as CEO, Net Perceptions became a leading company for
recommender systems during the Internet boom through the late 90's
and early 2000s . Net Perceptions had many of
the leading Web companies as customers, and was very visible in the
Internet food chain. In 2000, Steven Snyder, Brad Miller, and John
Riedl received the World Technology Award
in the Commerce category
for their contributions to E-Commerce, and Net
Perceptions also received the MIT Sloan School E-Commerce Award for
Technology Innovation in May 1999 .
Among many other media interviews, Snyder participated an ABC Nightline show about Net Perceptions technology in Dec 1999 .
as CEO of Net Perceptions in 2001, he began a new career teaching,
studying, and communicating about his vision for business ethics.
Snyder has been teaching courses on business ethics at the University
of Minnesota, and developing his ideas about sustainable business
leadership. His key idea is sustainability reporting, which he calls
triple-bottom-line business accountability, in which traditional
business reporting is expanded to include environmental and social
performance in addition to economic performance. In January 2008,
Snyder presented a speech on his ideas
as the Tata Oration on
Business Ethics at the XLRI School of
Business and Human Resource in India .
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...
where he was Microsoft's first business unit general manager, leading the Development Tool Business. He was also founding CEO of Net Perceptions, a leading company in recommender systems during the late 1990s.
Early life
Steven Snyder was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He
earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Drexel University
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
and a M.B.A. from
Harvard. He then consulted at Touche Ross & Co
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited , commonly referred to as Deloitte, is one of the Big Four accountancy firms along with PricewaterhouseCoopers , Ernst & Young, and KPMG....
.
Microsoft
Snyder joined Microsoft in 1983, and was maderesponsible for turning around the relationship with IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
,
which had been faltering over the delivery of an operating system that
could work with the networking features of the upcoming IBM PC-AT
computer . The problem was that as of
1983 Microsoft was slipping behind on its delivery schedule and was
delaying the release of the AT badly. After delivering the news
to IBM on a tough phone call, Snyder and his team got the project
back on schedule and saved the relationship with IBM, which was
crucial to Microsoft at that time in its history .
Snyder was then promoted to be the first general manager in Microsoft history,
with responsibility for the Development Tool Business, helping develop
the products into industry leaders, as evidenced by winning the PC
Magazine annual awards competition two years in a row .
Personnel Decisions International
After leaving Microsoft in 1988 Snyder joined the Ph.D. program inPsychology at the University of Minnesota. His thesis was Task Strategy Development during Transition to Self-Managing Work Teams.
While working on his dissertation at Minnesota, he consulted with a
company called Personnel Decisions International (PDI),
which helps companies develop the talent of their employees. At PDI
Snyder helped the company develop a computer-based coaching program
that would enable leaders to develop specific leadership
competencies. The product had an innovative user interface for
presenting the components of leadership development: assessment,
a personalized development plan, and an everyday learning process.
These ideas became the basis of a US patent, held by PDI .
Net Perceptions
In April 1996 Snyder met members of the GroupLens ResearchGroupLens Research
GroupLens Research is a research lab in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities specializing in recommender systems, online communities, mobile and ubiquitous technologies, digital libraries, and local geographic information systems.The...
group. He quickly saw the commercial potential for their technology, known as collaborative filtering
Collaborative filtering
Collaborative filtering is the process of filtering for information or patterns using techniques involving collaboration among multiple agents, viewpoints, data sources, etc. Applications of collaborative filtering typically involve very large data sets...
, a form
of recommender system, and discussed the possibility of forming a company around the technology. Snyder argued that a research group from MIT had formed a company
in 1995 that was already commercializing collaborative filtering, and
that the window of opportunity was closing. (The MIT company would later
become Firefly
Firefly (website)
Firefly Network, Inc. was founded in March 1995 by a group of engineers from MIT Media Lab and some business people from Harvard Business School, including Pattie Maes , Upendra Shardanand, Nick Grouf, Max Metral, David Waxman and Yezdi Lashkari...
). The
team of Snyder, Brad Miller, John Riedl, Joe Konstan, and David
Gardiner founded Net Perceptions in May 1996, and licensed the technology
from the University of Minnesota in June 1996. Soon after they
received initial funding from Hummer Winblad Venture Partners
.
Led by Snyder as CEO, Net Perceptions became a leading company for
recommender systems during the Internet boom through the late 90's
and early 2000s . Net Perceptions had many of
the leading Web companies as customers, and was very visible in the
Internet food chain. In 2000, Steven Snyder, Brad Miller, and John
Riedl received the World Technology Award
World Technology Award
The World Technology Awards are presented annually by The World Technology Network at its World Technology Summit to individuals and corporations achieving significant, lasting progress in categories pertaining to science, technology, the arts, and design...
in the Commerce category
for their contributions to E-Commerce, and Net
Perceptions also received the MIT Sloan School E-Commerce Award for
Technology Innovation in May 1999 .
Among many other media interviews, Snyder participated an ABC Nightline show about Net Perceptions technology in Dec 1999 .
Business Ethics
When Snyder stepped downas CEO of Net Perceptions in 2001, he began a new career teaching,
studying, and communicating about his vision for business ethics.
Snyder has been teaching courses on business ethics at the University
of Minnesota, and developing his ideas about sustainable business
leadership. His key idea is sustainability reporting, which he calls
triple-bottom-line business accountability, in which traditional
business reporting is expanded to include environmental and social
performance in addition to economic performance. In January 2008,
Snyder presented a speech on his ideas
as the Tata Oration on
Business Ethics at the XLRI School of
Business and Human Resource in India .