Mark Zbikowski
Mark Zbikowski | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mark Joseph Zbikowski March 21, 1956 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Computer scientist, software architect, lecturer |
| Years active | 1981–2019 |
| Known for | MS-DOS executable file format ("MZ" header), MS-DOS development, OS/2, Cairo, Windows NT |
Mark "Zibo" Joseph Zbikowski (born March 21, 1956) is a former Microsoft Architect and an early pioneer in computer hacking. He joined Microsoft soon after its inception and played a leading role in the development of MS-DOS, OS/2, Cairo, and Windows NT. In 2006, he was recognized for his 25 years of service at Microsoft, becoming the third employee to reach this tenure milestone after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, retiring that same year.
He is credited with creating the MS-DOS executable file format, whose header signature features his initials: the ASCII characters 'MZ' (0x4D, 0x5A).
Early years
Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1956, Zbikowski exhibited an early passion for mathematics and computing. His notable achievements in the Michigan Mathematics Prize Competition earned him a place in an NSF-sponsored summer program at Oakland University, where he met future Microsoft leaders Steve Ballmer and Jeff Sachs. He secured second place twice in the MMPC between 1972 and 1974.
He obtained his undergraduate degree in computer science from Harvard (A.B. 1978) and completed a master's degree at Yale (S.M. 1979), while also engaging in university performing arts groups.
Microsoft
After being recruited by Ballmer, Zbikowski joined Microsoft in 1981. By March 1982, he had taken over from Tim Paterson as development lead and manager for MS-DOS versions 2.0 through 4.0. His significant innovations included implementing hierarchical directory structures and installable device drivers—features that laid the groundwork for Windows’ later Plug and Play functionality. Between 1985 and 1991, he contributed to the OS/2 architecture team, overseeing file systems and device drivers, while advising Paul Maritz. He is recognized for introducing the Installable File System concept within OS/2.
Microsoft and IBM
Following the conclusion of the Microsoft/IBM joint development partnership, Zbikowski served as a principal architect and development manager on Cairo, focusing on its Object File System and content indexing under the leadership of Jim Allchin and Anthony Short. In 1996, as Cairo transitioned from an independent product to a technology platform, he worked under Lou Perazzoli on the Windows NT kernel, emphasizing enhancements in performance and footprint reduction. By 1998, he assumed the role of architect and development manager responsible for NT file systems.
Other roles
Zbikowski retired from Microsoft in June 2006. The following year, driven by his interest in education, he joined the University of Washington as a lecturer within the Computer Science and Engineering department.
Subsequently, he held positions as CTO at Ivy Softworks and Atlas Informatics from 2014 to 2017, then worked at Valve Corporation between 2017 and 2019 before retiring again in December 2019. Currently, he serves as Technology Advisor to Polyverse.
His advisory and executive appointments include:
- Senior Technical Advisor at Jelastic (starting June 2013)
- CTO at SimulConsult (from August 2010)
- Senior Technical Advisor at Parallels, Inc. (beginning January 2008)
- Technical Advisor at Skytap (since December 2007)
- Technical Advisor at InstallFree (2007)
- Technical Advisor and Investor at BlueDot / Faves (October 2006)