James ‘Jim’ Goodnight is one of the wealthiest American’s and is popularly known as the cofounder of the software giant SAS, one of world’s leading business intelligence vendor.
Background
James H. Goodnight was born to Albert Goodnight and Dorothy Patterson in Salisbury, NC, on January 6, 1943. He lived in Greensboro, NC, until he was 12, when his family moved to Wilmington. From the age of 12, Goodnight worked after school and on weekends in his parents' hardware store in Wilmington, North Carolina.Mathematics and chemistry were Goodnight’s strongest subjects in school, thanks in part, he says, to a "wonderful chemistry teacher" at New Hanover High School.
Education
Mathematics and chemistry were Goodnight’s strongest subjects in school, thanks in part, he says, to a "wonderful chemistry teacher". At a height of six feet, four inches, Goodnight was a keen basketball player and cited his high school basketball coach as an important early influence. Software and computer programming, however, became Goodnight's passions.
In his sophomore year at North Carolina State University, as part of a major in applied mathematics, Goodnight took the only class available in computing at the time. This first encounter with a computer was a moment of revelation for Goodnight, and he found programming work over the summer break. In an article in the New York Times, Goodnight wrote that his destiny seemed assured: "After that summer, I was absolutely sold that I wanted to be in software" (October 20, 2002). At the time, he said, “a light went on, and I fell in love with making machines do things for other people.” Goodnight received a Master's in statistics in 1968. While working on his Master's, his curiosity was piqued over the prospect of a man being sent to the moon. Goodnight returned to North Carolina State University after working on the Apollo project. He earned a PhD in statistics and became a faculty member from 1972 to 1976.
Career
James Goodnight’s career followed a stable, unsurprising path from being part of the NASA Apollo space program in 1966 as computer programmer to being a faculty member with his Alma Mater from 1971-1976. This predictability, however, ended with the incorporation of SAS that James Goodnight founded and where he served as CEO, president, board member and computer programmer. Today, the company is the industry leader in business intelligence software, with Fortune 500 companies among its long-time clientele.
Goodnight remained CEO of SAS Institute for more than 35 years as the company grew from $138,000 its first year in business, to $420 million in 1993 and $2.43 billion by 2010. Under his leadership, the company grew each year and has never had a layoff. Goodnight became known for creating and defending SAS’ corporate culture, often described by the media as "utopian." He rejected acquisition offers and chose against going public to protect the company's work environment. Goodnight has maintained a flat organizational structure with only 27 people who directly report to him.