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| Paul Maritz | |
|---|---|
| Name | Paul Maritz |
| Birth date | 1955 |
| Birth place | Soweto |
| Nationality | South Africa |
| Alma mater | University of Natal, University of Cape Town |
| Occupation | Software executive, entrepreneur, investor |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Known for | Leadership at Microsoft Corporation, EMC Corporation, VMware, founding Pivotal Software |
Paul Maritz Paul Maritz is a South African-born technology executive and entrepreneur known for senior leadership at Microsoft Corporation, executive roles at EMC Corporation and VMware, and for founding Pivotal Software. He has influenced development of Windows NT, enterprise software strategy, cloud computing initiatives at Amazon Web Services, and platform engineering trends affecting Google, IBM, Oracle Corporation, and the broader Silicon Valley ecosystem. Maritz’s career spans product management, corporate strategy, venture investment, and philanthropic engagement with institutions such as Gates Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation.
Born in Soweto and raised in South Africa, Maritz studied at the University of Natal and later at the University of Cape Town. During the era of Apartheid in South Africa, Maritz’s formative years coincided with political movements including African National Congress activism and international sanctions affecting South African industry. He later emigrated to pursue opportunities in the global technology sector, connecting with networks in Silicon Valley, Seattle, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Maritz joined Microsoft Corporation in the early 1980s, participating in projects that interfaced with products from IBM and development teams working on MS-DOS and early Windows releases. As a senior executive he oversaw engineering for Windows NT, negotiated partnerships with Intel Corporation and Dell Inc., and worked with leaders such as Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. He directed collaborations involving Novell, Lotus Development Corporation, and enterprise customers like General Electric and Caterpillar Inc., while steering Microsoft’s enterprise server and tools strategy that interfaced with SQL Server and Exchange Server. Later, Maritz led the Platforms & Services Division, influencing initiatives that anticipated cloud services later developed by Amazon Web Services and competitors at Google LLC and IBM.
After leaving Microsoft, Maritz joined EMC Corporation and became CEO of VMware, where he guided virtualization offerings that connected with platforms from Citrix Systems, Red Hat, and hardware partners like Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems. At VMware he emphasized software-defined data center concepts and ecosystem partnerships with SAP SE and Oracle Corporation. Maritz later founded Pivotal Software as a joint venture involving EMC Corporation, VMware, and GE to focus on cloud-native platforms, partnering with organizations such as Cloud Foundry Foundation, Pivotal Labs, and enterprise customers including Ford Motor Company and Walmart. His leadership at Pivotal Software intersected with open source projects and contributors from Apache Software Foundation, Linux Foundation, and companies like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.
Maritz has served as CEO and board member across multiple startups and venture initiatives, investing through vehicles linked to Battery Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and collaborations with incubators like Y Combinator and Plug and Play Tech Center. He mentored founders associated with companies such as Airbnb, Stripe, Snowflake, Databricks, Confluent, and HashiCorp, advising on scaling, product-market fit, and platform strategy. Maritz also supported enterprise marketplaces and SaaS companies that work with partners including Salesforce, Workday, and ServiceNow, and engaged with research institutions like Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Carnegie Mellon University to foster technology transfer and entrepreneurship.
Maritz has participated in philanthropic efforts tied to foundations and policy organizations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the World Economic Forum. He advised public-sector digital initiatives in collaboration with municipalities and agencies affiliated with United Nations programs and partnered with NGOs such as Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders on technology-enabled projects. His public service engagements involved dialogues with governments of South Africa, United States, and United Kingdom on topics connecting digital infrastructure, workforce development initiatives with Coursera and edX, and responses to crises alongside organizations like Red Cross.
Maritz’s personal network spans leaders such as Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt, Marc Benioff, Diane Greene, and Jeff Bezos, reflecting influence across enterprise software, cloud computing, and open source communities like Cloud Foundry and Apache Software Foundation. His legacy includes contributions to the architecture of enterprise operating systems, promotion of cloud-native development practices, and mentorship that shaped founders behind companies like Twilio, PagerDuty, and Okta. Maritz’s impact is recognized in industry discussions at events such as RSA Conference, CES, VMworld, and AWS re:Invent, and by institutions preserving technology history such as the Computer History Museum and Smithsonian Institution.
Category:South African businesspeople Category:Technology executives