Microsites
Graham Weston
Biography
Graham Weston is the chairman and one of the founders, of Rackspace, the world leader in IT hosting and cloud computing. Based in San Antonio, Rackspace celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. It went public on the New York Stock Exchange in August 2008, just before the financial meltdown. Rackspace stock suffered with the rest of the market, but is up more than four-fold from its low and recently reached an all-time high.
Rackspace has achieved double-digit revenue growth every year for the past decade, and currently boasts a market capitalization of $2 billion. The company’s 2,600 employees serve about 60,000 customers of all sizes, who pay from $50 to $300,000 a month for hosting of their computing operations. Rackspace manages more than 55,000 servers in data centers all over the world, including a major facility near Heathrow Airport.
Rackspace has been recognized as one of the best places to work by Fortune magazine, the Financial Times, and the Winning Workplaces organization.
Graham has been a part of Rackspace from the beginning. Born to a ranching family in the San Antonio area, he saw entrepreneurial opportunities in everything around him. He reared prize cattle as a hobby and attended Texas A&M University, where he studied agricultural economics. One of his first businesses was inspired by his successful appeal of his father's property tax bills, leading him to help other property owners appeal their bills.
He went into the commercial real estate business, but also developed a keen interest in the possibilities of the Internet. In 1998, he and a partner provided the original capital for a business idea pitched by three local Trinity University students. They called it Rackspace.com. After six months, Graham joined the enterprise as CEO and remained in that position until 2006, when he became chairman.
While serving as CEO, Graham was named a “Best Boss” by Fortune Small Business magazine, and was recognized as regional Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young.
Graham was honored by the City of San Antonio in 2005, after he converting one of his vacant properties into a temporary shelter for victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Nicknamed the “Hilton of Shelters,” by the Denver Post, it housed more than 2,500 refugees.
One of Graham's passions is workplace culture and the sustainable advantage that it can deliver, which he emphasizes as a mentor and advisor to numerous entrepreneurs.
Graham feels a special connection to England. His mother hails from the area near Southhampton, and he enjoys visiting his many relatives there and around the country, and learning about the family’s history.
Graham is speaking at
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