Greg Whitten is an American computer engineer, investor and car collector.
Whitten graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in mathematics in 1973, and from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in applied mathematics in 1978. [1]
He worked for Compucolor, a company in Georgia established in 1977 that made the home computer Compucolor II (an early PC) but went out of business in 1983. While there, he reputedly optimized an unlicensed copy of Microsoft Basic so effectively that Microsoft later forgave Compucolor for their infringement in exchange for the rights to the enhancements. [2]
He then worked for Microsoft from 1979 to 1998. He developed the standards for the company's BASIC compiler line. [3]
"GW" in the name of the GW-BASIC dialect (first released 1983) of BASIC developed by Microsoft may have come from Greg Whitten's initials:
"The GW-BASIC name stands for Gee-Whiz BASIC. The GW- name was picked by Bill Gates. He is the one who knows whether it was Gee-Whiz or after me because it has been used both ways. I did set the directions for the BASIC language features after joining the company in 1979."
As a chief software architect, he also oversaw the development of the enterprise support systems required in Windows for the Microsoft Office. [4]
In 1998 he became member of the board of Numerix, a financial software company established 1996, where he had made a major investment and in 2001 was elected Boardman after another major investment. After being its CEO 2003–13, he was succeeded by Steve O'Hanlon. [4]
He is also a vintage car enthusiast and has a famous car collection that contains various Ferraris including his first, a Ferrari F40, [5] a Ferrari Enzo (#131632), [6] a Ferrari 250 GTO (#3413GT, 2000–2018), a Ferrari 250 LM (#5907, 1994–2005), a Ferrari 250 GT TdF (#0703GT, 1997–), a Ferrari F50 (#104163, 1995–2004), [7] and two LaFerrari, of which one is the unique in blue electrics. [8] His Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $48.8 million at a public auction in August 2018. [9]
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as Auto Avio Costruzioni, the company built its first car in 1940, and produced its first Ferrari-badged car in 1947.
GW-BASIC is a dialect of the BASIC programming language developed by Microsoft from IBM BASICA. Functionally identical to BASICA, its BASIC interpreter is a fully self-contained executable and does not need the Cassette BASIC ROM found in the original IBM PC. It was bundled with MS-DOS operating systems on IBM PC compatibles by Microsoft.
A grand tourer (GT) is a type of sports car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement. Grand tourers are most often the coupé derivative of luxury saloons.
The Ferrari 250 GTO is a GT car produced by Ferrari from 1962 to 1964 for homologation into the FIA's Group 3 Grand Touring Car category. It was powered by Ferrari's Tipo 168/62 Colombo V12 engine.
The Ferrari 275 is a series of front-engined V12-powered grand touring automobiles with two-seater coupé and spider bodies produced by Ferrari between 1964 and 1968. The first 275 series cars were powered by a 3.3 L (3286 cc) overhead camshaft Colombo 60° V12 engine producing 260–320 hp (190–240 kW). An updated 275 GTB/4 was introduced in 1966, with a revised four overhead camshaft engine producing 300 hp (220 kW). The 275 series were the first road-going Ferraris equipped with a transaxle and independent rear suspension.
The Ferrari F40 is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car engineered by Nicola Materazzi with styling by Pininfarina. It was built from 1987 to 1992, with the LM and GTE race car versions continuing production until 1994 and 1996 respectively. As the successor to the 288 GTO, it was designed to celebrate Ferrari's 40th anniversary and was the last Ferrari automobile personally approved by Enzo Ferrari. At the time it was Ferrari's fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car for sale.
Carrozzeria Scaglietti was an Italian automobile design and coachbuilding company active in the 1950s. It was founded by Sergio Scaglietti in 1951 as an automobile repair concern, but was located across the road from Ferrari in Maranello outside Modena, Italy.
The Ferrari 250 is a series of sports cars and grand tourers built by Ferrari from 1952 to 1964. The company's most successful early line, the 250 series includes many variants designed for road use or sports car racing. 250 series cars are characterized by their use of a 3.0 L (2,953 cc) Colombo V12 engine designed by Gioacchino Colombo. They were replaced by the 275 and 330 series cars.
The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano is a grand tourer produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. It was the brand's front engined, two-seat model that replaced the 575M Maranello in 2006 as a 2007 model, and was replaced for the 2013 model year by the F12berlinetta.
The Ferrari P was a series of Italian sports prototype racing cars produced by Ferrari during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Giotto Bizzarrini is an Italian automobile engineer who was active from the 1950s through the 1970s.
The Ferrari 330 was a series of V12 powered automobiles produced by Ferrari in 2+2 GT Coupé, two-seat Berlinetta, spyder, and race car versions between 1963 and 1968. The name "330" refers to the approximate displacement of each single cylinder in cubic centimeters.
The Ferrari250 Testa Rossa, or 250 TR, is a racing sports car built by Ferrari from 1957 to 1961. It was introduced at the end of the 1957 racing season in response to rule changes that enforced a maximum engine displacement of 3 litres for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and World Sports Car Championship races. The 250 TR was closely related to earlier Ferrari sports cars, sharing many key components with other 250 models and the 500 TR.
Ferrari is an Italian company which has produced sports cars since 1947, but traces its roots back to 1929 when Enzo Ferrari formed the Scuderia Ferrari racing team.
The Ferrari 250 GT SWB Breadvan is a one-off Ferrari made in 1962 from a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB, chassis number 2819 GT. It was built to compete against the new 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and other FIA World Sportscar Championship races.
The Ferrari GTO is an exotic homologation of the Ferrari 308 GTB produced from 1984 to 1987 in Ferrari's Maranello factory, designated GT for Gran Turismo and O for Omologata.
Numerix is an American financial technology limited liability company. It develops multi-asset class analytics and scalable software for risk management, trading, valuations and pricing for both sell-side and buyside market participants. The company is headquartered in New York City with nineteen offices worldwide.
The Ferrari 250 GT Coupé represented a series of road-going, grand touring cars produced by Ferrari between 1954 and 1960. Presented at the 1954 Paris Motor Show, the 250 Europa GT was the first in the GT-lineage. The design by Pinin Farina was seen as a more civilised version of their sporty Berlinetta 250 MM. Series built cars were an answer to the wealthy clientele demands of a sporty and luxurious Ferrari Gran Turismo, that is also easier to use daily.