Timothy Chou

Timothy Chou has a multifaceted career spanning academia, startups, and large corporations. He was one of only six individuals to hold the President title at Oracle, where he was instrumental in pioneering the cloud business from its inception. Chou also served as President of Oracle On Demand, significantly expanding the company's cloud operations. Currently, he contributes his expertise to the Board of Directors of Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) and Teradata (NYSE: TDC).

Chou began his career at Tandem Computers, one of the original Kleiner Perkins startups. Over the years, he has invested in and contributed to numerous other startups, including notable companies like WebEx, which were subsequently acquired by major corporations such as Cisco and Oracle. His recent roles include serving as the Chairman of the Alchemist Accelerator, which focuses on industrial IoT, and investing in emerging technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence.

Since 1982, Chou has been affiliated with Stanford University, where he initially taught computer architecture. After a hiatus, he returned to Stanford to launch the university's first course on cloud computing, now in its 12th year, featuring guest lectures by nearly 100 public company CEOs. Chou has authored several influential books, including "Precision: Principles, Practices and Solutions for the Internet of Things," praised by the prime minister of Vietnam as a “roadmap for the future of the economy.” This work introduces a vendor-neutral framework for the industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and discusses real-world IoT applications across diverse industries.

A renowned keynote speaker, Chou has delivered speeches on all six continents, addressing topics such as artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and the economic implications of emerging technologies. His presentations often explore the significant impact of technology on industries, ranging from agriculture to healthcare, and the evolution of business models fueled by software and hardware advancements. Chou has been featured in various high-profile publications like Forbes, Business Week, The Economist, and The New York Times, and has appeared on media outlets such as CNBC and NPR. Holding a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Timothy Chou continues to shape the dialogue around technology's role in modern business and society.