Michael S. Dell is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dell, the company he founded in 1984 with $1,000 and an unprecedented idea in the computer industry: sell computer systems directly to customers. In 18 years, the company's sales have grown from $6 million to $31.2 billion. The latest global innovation to come from Dell is its leadership on the webDell is acknowledged as the largest online commercial sell of computer systems. Mr. Dell has been honored many times for his visionary leadership, earning a spot on Time/CNN's list of the 25 most influential global executives in 2001 and being named the 2001 Chief Executive of the Year by Chief Executive Magazine.