Managing the first Windsurfing World Championship at age 19 served as an early indicator of Diane Greene's capacity for organizational leadership. She transitioned from naval architecture to computer science, eventually steering major platforms like VMware and Google Cloud through phases of massive growth, infrastructure shifts, and corporate acquisitions within the competitive landscape of the American technology sector.
Early Career and Education
Born in 1955, Greene began her professional life in naval architecture, designing ocean-going vessels and offshore structures. She earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Vermont in 1976 and a master's in naval architecture from MIT in 1978. After shifting her focus to computer science, she obtained a second master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1987. Before entering the executive sphere, she worked as an engineer and manager at Sybase, Tandem Computers, and Silicon Graphics, and founded the startup VXtreme.
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In 1998, Greene co-founded VMware alongside Mendel Rosenblum, Scott Devine, Edward Wang, and Edouard Bugnion. As CEO, she spearheaded the development of x86 virtualization, which allowed multiple operating systems to run on a single machine. The company grew rapidly, and in 2004, it was acquired by EMC Corporation for $635 million. By 2007, VMware reached a valuation of $19.1 billion following its public offering. Greene departed the company in 2008 after being replaced as CEO.
Leadership at Google Cloud
Greene joined the Google board of directors in 2012. In 2015, following Google's acquisition of her startup Bebop, she was appointed CEO of Google Cloud. During her tenure, she established the division as a formal enterprise-focused business unit. By the time she stepped down in 2019, the unit reached an annualized revenue of $8 billion. She remained on the Alphabet board until June 2019.
Advisory and Recognition
Beyond her executive roles, Greene has served on the boards of Intuit, Khan Academy, SAP, Stripe, A.P. Moller-Maersk, and Wix.com. In 2020, she became the chair of the MIT board of directors. Her professional contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the IEEE Computer Society's Computer Entrepreneur Award in 2011 and an election to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2018.
Fast facts
- Born: 1955, Rochester
- Education: University of Vermont, MIT, UC Berkeley
- VMware CEO: 1998-2008
- Google Cloud CEO: 2015-2019
- Alphabet Board Member: 2012-2019
- 2017 Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Award recipient
- Elected MIT board chair: 2020
Questions readers ask
What was Diane Greene's role at VMware?
She was a co-founder and served as CEO from 1998 until 2008, overseeing the company's growth in virtualization technology and its eventual public offering.
How did Diane Greene join Google?
She joined the Google board in 2012 and became CEO of Google Cloud in 2015 following the company's acquisition of her startup, Bebop.
Achievements
- Held posts at Google and VMware
