Management advisor, DreamWorks
formerly Senior Vice President, Microsoft Corporation
(profile at the time of induction in 1997)
At Microsoft, Patty Stonesifer was Senior Vice President of the Interactive Media Division, an $800 million business and the largest multimedia company in the nation, where she was responsible for the creation and marketing of interactive entertainment, news, information and service products across a variety of media. In addition to building the number one CD-ROM-based consumer software business in the world, Ms. Stonesifer managed Microsoft's investments in new online content and service products. Key consumer titles include Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, Microsoft Magic School Bus Series and Microsoft Flight Simulator.
She recently negotiated Microsoft's joint venture with DreamWorks SKG, a company owned by Steven Speilberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. The venture brought together the worlds of computers, entertainment and education and helped create an era in which computers are household necessities.
In addition to her involvement in a range of professional, community and educational organizations, Ms. Stonesifer is also a founding board member and executive committee member of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, a national academy dedicated to providing both educational and recognition opportunities for the creative members of the interactive media industry. She is also the founding co-chair of the CITIES board, an industry and academic board committed to expanding the use of technology in Seattle's community colleges. In July 1996, Ms. Stonesifer was named as one of the 25 Most Influential People in America by Time magazine.
Throughout Ms. Stonesifer's career, she has publicly supported initiatives on behalf of women and minorities. Many of the managers formerly reporting to Ms. Stonesifer at Microsoft have been successful in part through her guidance.
