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Greg Gianforte

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Greg Gianforte
File:Greg Gianforte wiki.jpg
Born (1961-04-17) April 17, 1961 (age 63)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Alma materStevens Institute of Technology
OccupationBusinessman and Entrepreneur
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSusan Gianforte

Greg Gianforte (born April 17, 1961) is an American engineer and businessman and candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for governor of Montana.[1]

Greg and his wife founded RightNow Technologies, customer-experience software company.[2] The couple is known for their philanthropy and relationships with various Christian and conservative groups includingFocus on the Family and the Washington, DC thinktank The Heritage Foundation.[3]

Education

Gianforte holds a B.E. degree in electrical engineering[clarification needed] and an M.S. degree in computer science from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Career

Gianforte began his career at AT&T Bell Laboratories and was one of the engineers on AT&T’s StarLAN Network project.

Gianforte co-founded Brightwork Development, a developer of network management applications.[citation needed] He sold the business to McAfee Associates in 1994. Gianforte went on to serve as North American VP, where the company’s North American sales operation grew from $25 million to more than $60 million in revenues in less than a year.

Gianforte founded RightNow Technologies in 1997 which went public in 2004 and was sold to Oracle Corporation for $1.5 billion in 2011.[4] Before the sale, RightNow Technologies employed about 500 people at its headquarters in Bozeman, Montana and over 1000 people in total.[5]

Gianforte is a board member of FICO.[6] and chair of the board at Petra Academy, a Bozeman, Montana Christian school.[7][8]

Politics

Gianforte was chosen as the 2014 graduation commencement speaker at Montana Tech, a public science and engineering college in Butte. The choice of speaker resulted in a protest by students and faculty critical of Gianforte's financial financial support of a museum promoting creationism and his opposition to legal protections for LGBTQ Montanans. Gianforte's personal foundation has ties to conservative religious groups such as the Heritage Foundation .[3][9]

On January 20, 2016, Gianforte announced his candidacy for the Republican Party’s nomination for Governor of Montana in 2016.[1] However, he had a political practices complaint filed against him after he allegedly started campaigning before registering.[10][11] The complaint was quickly dismissed.[12]

Gianforte is running on a platform that he believes will create a high wage economy in Montana,[13] which is currently 49th in wages.[14] His Facebook page also mentions that he is "...a lifetime member of the NRA and a staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment."[15]

Philanthropy

In 2006, Gianforte and his wife founded the Gianforte Family Foundation. The foundation has donated tens of millions of dollars to various charities[16] and describes as its primary mission to “support the work of Christian organizations engaged in education, poverty, and outreach work” and “protecting the unborn”.[17] He, his wife, and his son are the foundation’s three board members.[17]

In 2009, the Gianforte Family Foundation helped fund the $1.5 million creationist dinosaur museum in Glendive, Montana.[18]

Honors

Gianforte received an honorary doctorate from Stevens Institute of Technology and gave the commencement speech in 2012.[19]

In 2007, Gianforte was awarded an honorary doctorate from Montana State University's College of Engineering.[20]

In 2007, Gianforte was inducted in the CRM Hall of Fame.[21]

Gianforte received the 2003 Stevens Institute of Technology’s Stevens Honor Award.[22]

Gianforte was named Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2003.[23]

CRM Magazine awarded Gianforte the "2003 Influential Leader".[24]

References

  1. ^ a b Lutey, Tom (January 20, 2016). "Gianforte declares candidacy for governor in Billings". Billings Gazette. ISSN 2372-868X. Archived from the original on January 20, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Native & Newcomer". Sky. Delta Airlines. 2011. p. 114. ISSN 0734-8967. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  3. ^ a b "Faculty, students to boycott Tech graduation over speakers". Billings Gazette. The Montana Standard. March 27, 2014. ISSN 2372-868X. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Frier, Sarah (October 24, 2011). "Oracle Buys RightNow for .5 Billion to Add Cloud Services". Bloomberg.
  5. ^ Flandro, Carly (February 3, 2011). "RightNow grows to more than 1,000 employees". Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  6. ^ http://people.equilar.com/bio/greg-gianforte-rightnow-technologies/salary/79062
  7. ^ https://petraacademy.com/academy/petra-distinctives/
  8. ^ https://petraacademy.com/academy/school-board/
  9. ^ "Creationists at Commencement"
  10. ^ Carter, Troy. "Political practices complaint filed against Gianforte". Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  11. ^ Talwani, Sanjay. "Complaint alleges that Gianforte campaigned before registering as a candidate". MTN News. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  12. ^ Carter, Troy. "Campaign Complaint Against Gianforte Dismissed". bozemandailychronicle.com. Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  13. ^ Gianforte, Greg. "High Tech is creating high wage jobs in Montana". bettermontanajobs.com. Better Montana Jobs. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  14. ^ DeMay, Daniel. "The bottom line: Tax return data puts Montana wages near bottom of nation, again". bozemandailychronicle.com. Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  15. ^ https://www.facebook.com/GregForMontana?fref=nf
  16. ^ Associated Press. "Gianforte releases tax returns showing income of $220 million over 10 years." Billings Gazette. 1/3/2016. http://billingsgazette.com/news/government-and-politics/gianforte-releases-tax-returns-showing-income-of-m-over-years/article_788f2715-20c5-536a-98ce-258aa68f40b8.html. Date Accessed: 2/4/2016
  17. ^ a b http://gianfortefoundation.org/about-us/
  18. ^ Healy, Donna (October 18, 2009). "Dinosaur museum presents biblical view of origins: A faith-based Creation". Billings Gazette. ISSN 2372-868X. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ [1]
  20. ^ Schmidt, Carol (April 3, 2007). "Four to receive MSU honorary doctorate degrees". MSU News Service. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  21. ^ CRM Hall of Fame
  22. ^ Stevens Institute of Technology’s Stevens Honor Award
  23. ^ Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year
  24. ^ CRM Magazine 2003 Influential Leader
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