Thomas Siebel

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

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

Early life and education

Siebel was born in Chicago as one of the seven children of Arthur Francis Siebel, a Harvard-educated lawyer, and Ruth A. (née Schmid) Siebel.Chicago Tribune: "Obituary - Siebel, Ruth A."
January 27, 2006 He graduated from the University of Illinois, where he received a BA in history, an MBA, an MS in computer science,Businessweek: "TOM SIEBEL--CEO, Siebel Systems Inc." By Gabrielle Saveri
August 14, 1997 and an honorary doctorate of engineering.
February 16, 2006

Business career

Siebel was an executive at Oracle Corporation between 1984 and 1990, holding several management positions.Top Tech Execs: Tom Siebel
Forbes
Fast Company He was CEO of Gain Technology, a multimedia software company that merged with Sybase in December 1992. Siebel later founded Siebel Systems, where he was chairman and CEO before the company was acquired by Oracle in January 2006. He is the chairman of First Virtual Group, a diversified holding company.

Siebel Systems

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 creating enterprise software applications for marketing, sales, and customer service functions, but Oracle management declined his proposal. In 1993, Siebel left Oracle and founded Siebel Systems. By 1999, Siebel Systems had become one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the United States. Before merging with Oracle in January 2006, Siebel Systems grew to over 8,000 employees in 32 countries, with more than 4,500 corporate customers, and annual revenue exceeding $2 billion.

Management philosophy

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

Honors and awards

Siebel has held advisory and board positions at institutions including Stanford, the University of Illinois, and the University of California, Berkeley.Stanford University
He was a Trustee at Princeton University from 2008 to 2011.Princeton University
September 23, 2011 He also chairs the American Agora Foundation and is a director at the Hoover Institution at Stanford.Hoover Institution
American Agora Foundation
Siebel is the founder of the Montana Meth Project and the Siebel Scholars Foundation. His philanthropic contributions have been recognized by publications such as ''Barron's'', which ranked him among the world's top 25 philanthropists in 2009 and 2010,The 25 Best Givers 2009
Barron'sThe 25 Best Givers 2010
, Barron's and ''BusinessWeek'', which included him in its list of ''The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists'' in 2007 and 2008.The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists
, BusinessWeek

Philanthropy

In 2001, Siebel donated $32 million to the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his alma mater, for the construction of the Siebel Center for Computer Science, which opened in the spring of 2004.Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science
In 2006, he donated $4 million to the university 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.''
In 2007, Siebel pledged an additional $100 million gift to the university.U of I announces record $100 million gift from Alumnus Thomas Siebel
, University of Illinois

In 2015, the Siebel Foundation launched the Siebel Energy Institute to support research on the data management of energy infrastructure monitoring. In 2016, Siebel donated $25 million to fund the construction of the Siebel Center for Design at the University of Illinois, a 60,000-square-foot multidisciplinary facility designed by the architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, which was completed in 2020. In 2024, Siebel donated $50 million to establish the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science at the University of Illinois.

Political involvement

In February 2022, Siebel donated $90,000 to the Canada convoy protest in Ottawa, which opposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.

In 2024, Siebel donated $500,000 to Donald Trump since Doug Burgum was in the running for Vice President.

Personal life

He lives in Woodside, California and is married to Stacey Siebel, with whom he has four children. Siebel is the second cousin once removed of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the First Lady of California and wife of Governor Gavin Newsom.

In 2022, Siebel had the highest personal emissions from private jet use of any American.

Elephant incident

On the morning of August 1, 2009, while in Tanzania, Siebel and a guide were observing a group of elephants from 200 yards away when an elephant charged the guide and then turned on Siebel, breaking several ribs, goring him in the left leg, and crushing the right.Tech mogul Tom Siebel injured by elephant
by Julia Prodis Sulek and Brandon Bailey, ''The Mercury News'', 09/03/2009A Golfer Never Forgets
by Jerry Tarde, ''Golf Digest'', July 2010 After they radioed for help, it took three hours for him to receive medical treatment. He was flown to the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, where his wounds were cleaned and his leg was stabilized. He was then flown back to the United States on a 20-hour flight, during which he received 10 hours of morphine and 15 hours of fluids. Having lost half his fluids, he was admitted to the intensive care unit.Tom Siebel On Being Gored By An Elephant
as told to Steven Bertoni, ''Forbes'' magazine, 10/11/2010 He was moved to Stanford Hospital where, over the next six months, doctors performed 11 surgeries, fixed his ribs and shoulder, and saved his left leg.

In September 2010, Siebel underwent 16 surgeries and an Ilizarov apparatus external fixator procedure to mend, lengthen, and reshape the tibia of his right leg. After 19 reconstructive surgeries over two and a half years, Siebel fully recovered.Thomas Siebel
''Forbes'' magazine, 6/26/14 In 2013, National Geographic included Siebel's account in its TV series ''Dead or Alive: Trampled on Safari''.Trampled on Safari
''National Geographic'', 6/26/14

Books and articles

*''Digital Transformation'' (2019)
*"Digital Transformation: The Post-Industrial Utility" (Aspenia Magazine, June 2018)
*"Why digital transformation is now on the CEO’s shoulders" (''McKinsey Quarterly'', December 2017)
*"The Internet of Energy" (''Electric Perspectives'', March/April 2015)
*"Big Data and the Smart Grid: Is Hadoop the Answer?" (Stanford Energy Journal, October 21, 2014)
*''Taking Care of eBusiness'' (2001)
*''Cyber Rules'' (with Pat House) (1999)
*''Virtual Selling'' (with Michael Malone) (1996)

References

External links

First Virtual Group

C3.ai
(formerly C3 Energy, C3 IoT)
Dịch vụ diệt mốiVinPest

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siebel, Thomas
American billionaires
American computer businesspeople
American Lutherans
American philanthropists
Businesspeople in software
American technology chief executives
Living people
Gies College of Business alumni
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni
1952 births
People from Woodside, California