Spouse(s) Kathy Betty (?-2007) Relatives Rena Lane (sister) | Name Garry Betty Home town Columbus | |
 | ||
Born March 4, 1957 ( 1957-03-04 ) Huntsville, Alabama Alma mater Georgia Institute of Technology Occupation CEO and President of EarthLink (1996–2007) Died January 2, 2007, Atlanta, Georgia, United States Education Georgia Institute of Technology (1979) | ||
Charles Garrett "Garry" Betty (March 4, 1957 – January 2, 2007) was President and CEO of EarthLink, a large American Internet service provider, from 1996 until his death. During his leadership of EarthLink, Betty grew the customer base from just under 100,000 members to over 5,000,000.
Contents
Early life and education
Betty was born in Huntsville, Alabama and grew up in Columbus, Georgia. He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia where he received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1979.
Career
Betty worked for IBM, and received the IBM President's Award in 1982 for his work on the original IBM PC.
Betty subsequently became president and CEO of Digital Communications Associates and for some time he was the New York Stock Exchange's youngest listed CEO.
Awards
Betty received Young Alumnus of the Year honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1993 and was inducted into the Georgia Technology Hall of Fame in 2005.
Cancer diagnosis and death
EarthLink reported in a press release on November 21, 2006 (also reported by major news agencies including the Wall Street Journal) that Betty had been diagnosed with a serious form of cancer which required him to take an undetermined leave of absence. The company announced that the Board of Directors named Mike Lunsford, Vice-President of Voice and Access, as interim CEO. EarthLink announced on January 3, 2007 that Betty had died at the age of 49 from complications of adrenal cortical cancer.
Prior to his death, Betty set up The Garry Betty Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding research into the genetic mutations that may lead to cancer.