Fred Luddy
Fred Luddy | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1954 New Castle, Indiana, U.S. |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founder of ServiceNow |
Fred Luddy (born 1954) is an American entrepreneur and billionaire, recognized as the founder of ServiceNow, a prominent cloud computing enterprise.
Early life
Raised in New Castle, Indiana, Luddy is the son of a Catholic educator and an accountant. He enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington but left before completing his degree to pursue a career in software programming.
Career
In 2004, Luddy experienced a significant financial setback when he lost a net worth of approximately $35 million due to accounting irregularities at Peregrine Systems, where he held the position of CTO.
Just two weeks prior to his 50th birthday, he established ServiceNow, driven by the desire to launch a new venture before reaching that age. In 2011, Luddy relinquished his role as CEO to concentrate on product innovation and later moved into an advisory capacity in 2016.
By October 2023, his fortune was estimated at around $1.2 billion.
World Team Tennis
Luddy became the majority shareholder and Chairman of the Board for the San Diego Aviators in 2015. Two years later, in partnership with Eric Davidson, he acquired majority ownership of World TeamTennis from Billie Jean King.
Philanthropy
Following a donation from Fred Luddy, Luddy Hall at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University Bloomington was named to honor the Luddy family’s legacy at IU, including his mother, father, sister, and two brothers.
Awards
Fred Luddy was honored with the Horatio Alger Award in 2023 in acknowledgment of his achievements as an entrepreneur and his impact on the technology sector.