Charles Garrett "Garry" Betty

Who was Charles Garrett "Garry" Betty?

Charles Garrett "Garry" Betty was President and CEO of EarthLink, a large American Internet service provider, from 1996 until his death. During his leadership of EarthLink, Betty grew the customer base from just under 100,000 members to over 5 million.

Betty was born in Huntsville, Alabama and grew up in Columbus, Georgia. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia where he received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1979. After that he worked for IBM, and received the IBM President's award in 1982 for his work on the original IBM PC. Betty subsequently became president and CEO of Digital Communications Associates and for some time he was the New York Stock Exchange's youngest listed CEO. Betty also received Young Alumnus of the Year honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1993 and was inducted into the Georgia Technology Hall of Fame in 2005.

EarthLink reported in a press release on 21 November 2006 that Betty had been diagnosed with a serious form of cancer which required him to take an undetermined leave of absence.