by Jeff Greene /
An Iconic Microsoft Company Photo – 30 Years Later
Top row, L-R: Steve Wood, Bob Wallace and Jim Lane;
Middle row, L-R: Bob O'Rear, Bob Greenberg, March McDonald and Gordon Letwin;
Front row, L-R: Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Marla Wood and Paul Allen.
(Missing: Miriam Lubow, who missed the photo shoot because of a snowstorm)
Thirty years ago, on December 7th, 1978, the entire Microsoft staff gathered at Royal Frontier Studios in Albuquerque for a company portrait. It is the only image of it’s kind from that era and is one of the most iconic images in Microsofts’ history. For those of us who work here, it serves as a historical touch point illustrating how a small, yet passionate and dedicated, group could quite literally change the world.
It was during this time in Albuquerque that the name “Microsoft” was trademarked and where Bill Gates laid out his famous mission statement for the company: A computer on every desk and in every home running Microsoft software.
In April this year, 11 of Microsoft’s 12 original employees gathered again to re-create the famous photo that was taken shortly before the company relocated in 1978 from its Albuquerque birthplace to Washington State.
Back row, L-R: Bob O'Rear, Steve Wood, Bob Greenberg, March McDonald, Gordon Letwin, and Jim Lane;
Front row, L-R: Bill Gates, Andrea Lewis, Miriam Lubow, Marla Wood and Paul Allen.
(Missing: Bob Wallace, who passed away in 2002)
Click here for more details about the history of this photo and the early days of Microsoft…
