Executive Team

Michael J. Saylor has served as chief executive officer and chairman of the Board of Directors since founding MicroStrategy in November 1989 and as president from November 1989 to November 2000 and since January 2005. Prior to that, Mr. Saylor was employed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company as a Venture Manager from 1988 to 1989 and by Federal Group, Inc. as a consultant from 1987 to 1988. Mr. Saylor received an S.B. in Aeronautics and Astronautics and an S.B. in Science, Technology and Society from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sanju K. Bansal has served as executive vice president and chief operating officer since 1993 and was previously vice president, consulting since joining MicroStrategy in 1990. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of MicroStrategy since September 1997 and has served as vice chairman of the Board of Directors since November 2000. Prior to joining MicroStrategy, Mr. Bansal was a consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton, a worldwide technical and management consulting firm, from 1987 to 1990. Mr. Bansal received an S.B. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.S. in Computer Science from The Johns Hopkins University.

Jeffrey A. Bedell has served as vice president, technology and chief technology officer since April 2001, as vice president, platform technology from 1999 to 2001, and as senior program manager and director of technology programs from 1992 to 1999. Mr. Bedell received a B.A. in Religion from Dartmouth College.

Vincent Gabriele has served as Executive Vice President, Human Resources since December 2007, and as Vice President, Human Resources since August 2002. Prior to this position, he was Director, Global Staffing with responsibility for Executive, Mid-Level, and University recruitment programs worldwide. Before joining MicroStrategy in 1997, Mr. Gabriele worked for American Management Systems' Federal and DOD Intelligence practice from 1988 to 1997 as a Consultant and later as the Recruiting Manager. From 1980 to 1987, he served as an Intelligence Analyst for the US Navy focusing on satellite imagery analysis and intelligence collection for the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Gabriele received his Bachelor of Science in Management from National Louis University in Evanston, IL.

Jonathan F. Klein has served as vice president, law and general counsel since November 1998 and as corporate counsel from June 1997 to November 1998. From September 1993 to June 1997, Mr. Klein was an appellate litigator with the United States Department of Justice. Mr. Klein received a B.A. in Economics from Amherst College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Douglas K. Thede has served as Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of MicroStrategy since September 2009. Since March 2009, Mr. Thede has served as Interim Chief Financial Officer and acting Vice President, Worldwide Controller from March 2009 through June 2009. Mr. Thede also served as Vice President, Worldwide Tax Planning and Compliance from June 2008 to March 2009. Prior to joining MicroStrategy, he served as Senior Director, Tax of Convergys Corporation, an S&P 500 company that provides relationship management solutions, from March 2005 to May 2008, and as Senior Tax Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP from August 2003 to March 2005. Mr. Thede also served a total of twelve years with Cincinnati Bell Inc., Ernst & Young LLP and KPMG Peat Marwick from 1991 to 2003. Mr. Thede is a certified public accountant and received a B.S. in Business from Miami University.

Bob Watts has served as Vice President, Worldwide Professional Services since January 2009. Mr. Watts joined MicroStrategy in January 2008 as Vice President, Worldwide Consulting & Education Services. Prior to joining MicroStrategy, Mr. Watts was employed by Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC), a Product Lifecycle Management and Enterprise Content Management solutions provider, where he held several positions of increasing responsibility, including Senior Vice President, Global Services from 2004 to 2007. Prior to joining PTC, Mr. Watts served as Director - Product Development and Configuration Management for Texas Instruments' Defense Systems division from 1995 to 1998. Mr. Watts also served for five years as an Aviation officer with the United States Army from 1990 to 1995. Mr. Watts earned a Master of Science in Business Organizational Management from the University of California, La Verne and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Peng Xiao has served as Chief Information Officer since May 2006, as Vice President of Information Systems since January 2005, and as Senior Director of Enterprise Applications from 2003 to 2005. Prior to joining MicroStrategy, Mr. Xiao was the head of IT operations for Bond and Pecaro, a strategic consulting firm in Washington D.C. Mr. Xiao received a B.S. in Computer Science and a B.A. in International Business from the Hawaii Pacific University, and a M.A. in Technology and International Affairs from the George Washington University.

Paul Zolfaghari has served as Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Operations since August 2006, where he is the executive officer responsible for global sales, field operations, and business affairs. Prior to this position, Mr. Zolfaghari served as Vice President, Worldwide Business Affairs from March 2005 to August 2006 where he reported to the CEO with direct responsibility for MicroStrategy's worldwide business and customer relationships. He also served as Vice President and Chief of Staff to the CEO from July 2003 to March 2005, as Chief of Staff to the CEO from November 2000 to July 2003, and as Assistant to the President and CEO from November 1999 to November 2000. Prior to joining MicroStrategy, Mr. Zolfaghari was an attorney for the United States Department of Justice and in private practice in Washington, D.C. Mr. Zolfaghari received a B.A. in English from Gettysburg College in 1986 and received his J.D. with Honors from the University of Pittsburgh in 1991.