John Sall, cofounder and executive vice president of SAS Institute, helped transform a university statistics project into the world’s largest privately held analytics software company. An expert in statistical methods and visualization, Sall led the development of JMP, SAS’s widely adopted exploratory analysis software used across science, engineering, and industrial research. Alongside cofounder Jim Goodnight, he has championed long-term, employee-centric management and reinvestment in research over short-term profit, making SAS a model of sustainable tech growth. A major philanthropist in education, nature conservation, and science innovation, Sall’s impact spans both the global analytics industry and public access to scientific literacy.

James Scapa, founder, chairman, and CEO of Altair, has spent four decades building the company into a global leader in simulation, high-performance computing, and data analytics. Starting Altair in 1985 with a small engineering team, Scapa helped pioneer computer-aided engineering tools that transformed product design across automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, and technology industries. Under his leadership, Altair expanded into cloud computing, AI, and enterprise analytics, evolving into a multibillion-dollar publicly traded company. Known for his long-term vision and engineering-driven culture, Scapa remains one of the most respected leaders in applied simulation and computational science.

James Goodnight, cofounder and longtime CEO of SAS Institute, built one of the world’s largest privately held software companies by pioneering advanced analytics long before “data science” became a global discipline. Since 1976, he has led SAS with a distinctive focus on research, long-term product development, and a famously employee-centric culture that consistently ranks among the best workplaces in America. Under his guidance, SAS grew into a multibillion-dollar enterprise whose software powers decision-making for governments, corporations, and institutions worldwide, earning Goodnight recognition as a visionary architect of the modern analytics industry.

Jack Dangermond, founder and president of Esri, is a pioneering figure in geographic information systems (GIS) and digital mapping technology. Since founding the company in 1969 with his wife, Laura, he has transformed Esri into the global leader in GIS software, used by governments, businesses, and researchers in more than 100 countries. A landscape architect by training, Dangermond has combined environmental vision with technological innovation to help organizations make data-driven decisions about land use, sustainability, and urban planning. A dedicated philanthropist, he has donated hundreds of millions to environmental conservation and education.