Lieutenant Brent Sanford Political party Republican Residence Governor's Residence Party Republican Party | Preceded by Jack Dalrymple Spouse(s) Kathryn Helgaas Burgum Website Government website | |
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Born August 1, 1956 (age 60)
Arthur, North Dakota, U.S. ( 1956-08-01 ) Office Governor of North Dakota since 2016 Children Jesse Burgum, Tom Burgum, Joe Burgum Siblings Bradley J. Burgum, Barbara Burgum Education North Dakota State University, Stanford University Similar Jack Dalrymple, Wayne Stenehjem, Heidi Heitkamp, John Hoeven, Kevin Cramer Profiles | ||
Douglas J. Burgum (born August 1, 1956) is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist and politician serving as the 33rd and current Governor of North Dakota since December 15, 2016. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Contents
- Early life and education
- Early career
- Great Plains Software
- Microsoft
- Board work
- Investment firms
- Philanthropy
- Governor of North Dakota
- Political positions
- References
He joined Great Plains Software in 1983 and became the company’s president in 1984, which he later sold to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001. At Microsoft he became the head of Microsoft Business Solutions. He began serving as chairman of the board for Atlassian in 2012. He also served on the board for SuccessFactors starting in 2007, and as chairman from 2010 to 2012. Burgum is the founder of Kilbourne Group, a Fargo-based real-estate development firm, and co-founder of Arthur Ventures.
In 2016, he announced his intention to run for Governor of North Dakota as a Republican candidate. With no formal political experience and despite losing the state Republican party's gubernatorial endorsement contest to longtime Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem at the party convention in April 2016, Burgum nevertheless defeated Stenehjem handily in the primary election two months later to claim the Republican nomination. Burgum ran against Democrat Marvin Nelson and Libertarian Marty Riske in the November 2016 gubernatorial election, where he easily won with over 75% of the vote.
Early life and education
Burgum was born on August 1, 1956 and raised in Arthur, North Dakota, where his grandfather founded a grain elevator in 1906. He attended North Dakota State University to earn his undergraduate degree in 1978 and received an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1980. He would later receive honorary doctorates from North Dakota State in 2000 and from the University of Mary in 2006.
Early career
Following his graduation from Stanford GSB, Burgum moved to Chicago to become a consultant with McKinsey & Company. Soon afterward he mortgaged $250,000 of farm land in order to provide the seed capital for accounting software company Great Plains Software in Fargo, North Dakota. He joined the company in 1983 and became the company’s president in 1984 after leading a small investment group composed of family members in buying out the rest of the company.
Great Plains Software
During the 1980s, Great Plains was often ranked in the top 100 companies to work for in the US by Fortune magazine. Burgum grew the company to about 250 employees by 1989 and led the company to about $300 million in annual sales and a 1997 IPO, after using the Internet to help the company expand beyond the borders of North Dakota. In 2001, Burgum sold Great Plains Software to Microsoft for $1.1 billion USD. Burgum has stated that he built the company in Fargo because of its proximity to North Dakota State University, in order to employ its stream of engineering students.
Microsoft
Following the sale, Burgum was named Senior Vice President of Microsoft Business Solutions Group, the offshoot created from merging Great Plains into the corporation. He stayed with Microsoft until 2007 and was responsible for making enterprise apps a priority for Microsoft during this tenure. Satya Nadella, current CEO of Microsoft, has credited Burgum with “inspiring him to find the soul of Microsoft”.
Board work
Burgum formerly served on the advisory board for Stanford Graduate School of Business and was on the board of SuccessFactors during the 2000s, becoming chairman of the board between 2007 and the 2011 sale of the company to SAP. In 2012 Burgum became the first chairman of the board for Atlassian, after it expanded from its initial board of three members (none of whom served as the official chair). During 2011 and 2014, he twice spent several months as the interim CEO of Intelligent InSites, a company for which he has served as the executive chairman of the board since 2008. That year he also became a member of the board of directors for Avalara.
Investment firms
Burgum is the founder of the Kilbourne Group, a real-estate development firm focused on downtown Fargo. In 2013 Burgum created plans to build the tallest building in Fargo—a 23 story mixed-use building—to be named either Block 9 or Dakota Place. The company has also advocated for a convention center to be built in downtown Fargo. The company has acquired and renovated multiple properties in Fargo, including the former St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and the former Woodrow Wilson alternative high school. He is a co-founder of Arthur Ventures, a venture capital company. Several of the companies he has invested in are located in Fargo.
Philanthropy
Burgum supports philanthropic causes like the Plains Art Museum. In 2001 he donated a refurbished school building he had acquired in 2000 to North Dakota State University. It was named Renaissance Hall and became home to the university’s visual arts department, major components of the architecture and landscape architecture department and the Tri-College University office. Burgum started the Doug Burgum Family Fund in 2008, which focuses its charitable giving on youth, education and health.
Governor of North Dakota
Burgum was sworn in as the 33rd Governor of North Dakota on December 15, 2016 alongside running mate, Brent Sanford, who was sworn in as the 38th Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota.
Political positions
Burgum has stated his support for the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline.