Gary Andersen and his two sisters were raised on several farms their parents rented near small towns in Minnesota. He graduated from high school, one of eight boys in a class of fi fteen, then received a BSEE (days) and BSBA (nights) from the University of Minnesota. Over fi ve decades, he went from designing computer logic and memory systems for, of all places, General Mills, to sales and marketing positions with several companies, including Ampex Corporation and Intel Corporation. He, his wife Marge, and two daughters moved to the Bay Area in 1975 and to Texas for an expected two years in 1979. In 1986, he became the sixth CEO of a small, never profi table, seven year-old high-tech venture-capitalist-backed company. He dramatically grew the company and made it profi table. He managed the company?s successful IPO in 1994 and then left on his 10th anniversary as CEO. He and his wife are actively involved with their two daughters, son-in-law and grandson, who all live in Texas, plus their extended family and a wide range of friends.