Scott Oki

Scott Oki (born October 5, 1948 in Seattle, Washington) is a former senior vice-president of sales and marketing for Microsoft who conceived and built Microsoft's international operations. Oki also played a crucial role in Microsoft's rapid domestic growth during the 1980s.

Born to a Japanese-American family, Oki attended the University of Washington, but left after 18 months to join the Air Force. While in the service he took courses at the University of Colorado. After he left the service in 1974, he went on to receive a BA in accounting and information systems and earned an MBA the following year. After holding several computer-related jobs, Oki went to work for Microsoft in 1982.

Oki built Microsoft's international operations, and within two years it was more profitable than Microsoft's domestic operation. Bill Gates then made him Vice President of Domestic Operation, and within five years, the company's sales rose from $100 million to $1 billion. One of Oki's major contributions to Microsoft's success during that time was convincing Bill Gates and the board of directors to center product development and marketing efforts around Windows instead of OS/2. By the time he retired Oki was overseeing 3,000 employees.

When Oki retired in 1992, he reportedly cashed in stock options estimated at $100 million. He now runs the non-profit Oki Foundation, owns several golf courses, and serves on dozens of advisory boards and boards of directors for both for-profit and non-profit companies. Oki is the Co-Chair of the United Way of King County Campaign Board and Co-Chair of the Million Dollar Roundtable, Founder and Chairman of the Japanese American Chamber of Commerce, Founder and Co-President of the Chief Seattle Council Boy Scout Foundation, Co-Founder of Sounders For Kids, Co-Founder of America's Foundation for Chess, and Co-Founder of Social Venture Partners. He is a past-President of the Board of Regents for the University of Washington and the immediate past Chair of the Children's Hospital Foundation. Scott also serves on the national boards for United Way of America, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Japanese American National Museum, and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation.

In 1994, Scott Oki purchased The Golf Club at Echo Falls in Snohomish, Washington. This initial acquisition was the preliminary step toward building what eventually became a unique portfolio of golf properties known collectively as Oki Golf. This collection has grown to include eight properties, comprised of ten championship golf courses, both public and private, spread throughout the Puget Sound.In addition to The Golf Club at Echo Falls, the Oki Golf portfolio also includes Indian Summer Golf & Country Club in Olympia, Washington (private), The Plateau Club in Sammamish, Washington (private), and The Woodlands and The Links courses (formerly Meriwood and Vicwood – both public) at The Golf Club at Hawks Prairie in Lacey, Washington. The flagship courses in Oki Golf’s celebrated collection are located at The Golf Club at Newcastle in Newcastle, WA. Two additional golf properties were added to the group in December of 2005. Washington National Golf Club (public) in Auburn, WA, and Trophy Lake Golf & Casting (public) in Port Orchard, WA. (source: okigolf.com) In the winter of 2007, Oki Golf added Harbour Pointe (public) in Mukilteo, Washington.

External links

* [http://goldsea.com/Business/Okiscott/okiscott.html Microsoft's Asian Pioneer]