Scott Oki

Who is Scott Oki?

Scott Oki is a former senior vice-president of sales and marketing for Microsoft who conceived and built Microsoft's international operations. Oki also played a crucial role in Microsoft's rapid domestic growth during the 1980s.

Born to a Japanese-American family, Oki attended the University of Washington, but left after 18 months to join the Air Force. While in the service he took courses at the University of Colorado. After he left the service in 1974, he went on to receive a BA in accounting and information systems and earned an MBA the following year. After holding several computer-related jobs, Oki went to work for Microsoft in 1982.

Oki built Microsoft's international operations, and within two years it was more profitable than Microsoft's domestic operation. Bill Gates then made him Vice President of Domestic Operation, and within five years, the company's sales rose from $100 million to $1 billion. One of Oki's major contributions to Microsoft's success during that time was convincing Bill Gates and the board of directors to center product development and marketing efforts on Windows instead of OS/2. By the time he retired Oki was overseeing 3,000 employees.