Michael Dell is the chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, one of the world's leading IT companies that allows delivering critical infrastructure to some of the world's most valued customers. For a customer's modernized IT, creating an authentic future, and preserving information, it has helped to sort out solutions from it.
The company stands out with many innovative solutions and ethics within and thus is trusted in all walks of life. The organization has won several awards, including the World's Most Ethical Companies and one of the Best Employers for Women. Technology company Dell Technologies continues to be at the forefront of shaping the future of technology with integrity, innovation, and excellence.
Dell was born on February 23, 1965, in Houston, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Austin for one year in 1983-1984. Alexander is the son of the orthodontist Alexander and the stockbroker Lorraine D. Dell is married to fashion designer and boutique owner Susan Lieberman, since 1989 with whom he had four children. His career began at Dell Computer Corporation, an organization where he has served as a chief executive officer since 1984 and chairman since 1987, a period in which he led the company to become a household name in the technology market.
Born to Alexander, an orthodontist, and Lorraine, a financial consultant and stockbroker, Dell had an interest in business and electronics since childhood and began investing in stocks while in his teens. At age 15, he took apart his first Apple computer to understand how it worked. During high school, he earned $18,000 by selling newspaper subscriptions by identifying fresh customer bases.
While attending the University of Texas, Dell launched a business selling computer disk drives from his dorm room. At that time, few home personal computer owners had fewer places to buy them and little ability to customize their purchases. He obtained unsold IBM PCs at cost, installed additional memory and disk drives, and resold them at prices 10-15% below retail. Using a starting investment of $1,000, he quickly built up a base of customers and began to assemble computers off-campus at a fraction of the price offered in traditional retail markets, which formed the basis of what was to become one of the world's largest PC companies.
Michael Dell started his story back in 1984 when he founded Dell Technologies from scratch with only $1,000 at just 19 years of age. He said, "Technology is about enabling human potential.” He was named in the Fortune 500 in 1992 as the youngest CEO in history. Dell was known for strategic foresight and decisive action. He took Dell Technologies private in 2013, combining Dell, EMC, and VMware to become the biggest technology merger in history, culminating with the relisting of Dell Technologies in 2018.
In 1998, Dell founded MSD Capital, now DFO Management, to manage the investment portfolio of the Dell family. In addition, in 1999, he and his wife, Susan, founded the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to improve opportunities for disadvantaged children in various parts of the world including the US.
The biggest influence on Dell Technologies to transform into an AI solutions leader remains that of Michael Dell. He placed the company at the forefront of the digital transformation being witnessed today, by focusing on comprehensive strategies integrating advanced technologies into business operations. This marked a very significant milestone in how businesses will be conducted going forward, the transition from traditional computing to cognitive solutions.
Michael Dell did envision the future of business where AI not only improves operations but also is a positive change agent in society. He spoke about how it is a responsibility to further advance AI and ensure that it has a positive social impact.
September 2024 saw the launch by Dell Technologies of a program that will simplify and speed up the deployment of AI among communications service providers. Dubbed Dell AI for Telecom, the program is part of the AI Factory suite the company offers through its collaboration with Nvidia. This program provides on-premises solutions for AI which allow providers to enhance network performance.
In August 2024, Wipro and Dell Technologies agreed on a wide-ranging partnership that aimed to bring together AI Enterprise Solutions. This tie-up was meant to push forward business processes with the input of innovative technology from AI applied across industry lines. Together, the comprehensive knowledge base of Wipro in IT services and the leading-edge technology at Dell's hands hope to find solutions that enable organizations to optimize and achieve superior working outcomes.
In May 2024, Dell unveiled its "AI Factory," designed to accelerate the development and deployment of AI applications through advanced computing architectures that convert raw data into actionable insights.
Michael Dell emphasized that businesses need to equip their employees with appropriate tools to be productive with AI, which he declared necessary for organizations' efficiency and innovation.
In November 2023, Dell Technologies Inc. agreed on a deal worth $150 million to provide artificial intelligence startup Imbue with computing hardware. This deal is one such significant opportunity that Dell is reaching out for in an effort to have a growing hold in the market for artificial intelligence. The company has been informing investors that its server business is placed well for commanding opportunities that are currently and increasingly happening in AI applications.
Dell has a net worth of $109.5 billion as of October 14, 2024. In late 2018, Dell Technologies returned to the public market after a complicated financial restructuring. In 2021, the cloud software division of the company, VMware, was spun off and then was acquired by Broadcom in 2023 for $69 billion, with 39% of this amount going to Dell.
Michael Dell holds an honorary position on the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum and is a member of the executive committee of the International Business Council. He is also part of the Technology CEO Council and the Business Roundtable. Additionally, he serves on the advisory board of Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management in Beijing and the governing board of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. A board member of Catalyst, Michael previously held the role of the United Nations Foundation’s first Global Advocate for Entrepreneurship. Dell has authored two books, Direct from Dell and Play Nice But Win.
Michael Dell has faced several controversies during his career. The following are the most significant controversies:
Michael Dell faced a controversy in 2022 when Broadcom offered him an unsolicited, $61 billion acquisition for VMware that he claimed he did not anticipate. Such swift developments sparked the question of what such growth may portend for VMware and the creative directions that VMware has been pursuing in its strategies, and people have debated the questions of shareholder interest and corporate governance the takeover process brings.
In 2022, Dell Technologies agreed to settle an investor lawsuit over a 2018 stock deal that restored the company as a publicly traded company for a record $1 billion. The lawsuit centered on Dell's acquisition of the subsidiary VMware, through which Dell used $14 billion in cash and issued 149.4 million Class C shares in exchange for all outstanding Class V shares.
Dell tried a leveraged buyout to take Dell Inc. private in 2013 amidst tensions with activist investor Carl Icahn. Icahn attacked the value of the deal, leading to a very public fight over shareholder interests. It ended with Dell raising his offer to seal the buyout while spotlighting tensions in corporate governance.
Michael Dell caught heat in 2018 when he made an attempt to buy the tracking stock of VMware by offering to buy out the shareholders at 60 cents on the dollar. Activists like Carl Icahn do not take well to such offers. The deal was termed ‘totalitarian’, and Dell was forced to renegotiate the offer to 80 cents on the dollar.
In 2010, Dell Inc. agreed to settle an investigation with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The investigation involved the company's disclosures and alleged omissions before Fiscal 2008, related to its relationship with Intel Corporation and other financial reporting issues.