Pedro Celis

Pedro Celis (born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México) is a retired Distinguished Engineer from Microsoft Corporation.

Pedro Celis
Born
Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
Alma materITESM
Known forDatabases Systems
Scientific career
FieldsComputer Science
InstitutionsMicrosoft
Doctoral advisorIan Munro (computer scientist) and Paul Larson[1]

He served at the U.S. President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) from 2003 to 2005.[2][3] PITAC advises the president on policies and investments that the federal government should pursue to enhance and maintain the preeminence of the U.S. in information technology.[4][5]

He holds over 15 US patents.[6]

In 2009 the Hispanic Business Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States.[7][8]

In February 2014, he announced a bid for U.S. Congress in Washington state's 1st Congressional District to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene.[9] In August 2014, Celis narrowly advanced through the primary election[10] before falling to DelBene in the November general.[11]

Education and career

Celis graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies (ITESM) and received both a master's degree in Mathematics (1982) and a doctorate in Computer Science (1986) from the University of Waterloo.

He worked as an assistant professor at the Computer Science Department of Indiana University. He later worked as a software designer at Britton Lee, Inc. He worked at Tandem Computers from 1989 to 1998 where he became Technical Director of the NonStop SQL team.

At Microsoft from 1998 to 2012, Celis held several positions in the SQL Server group, including leading the WinFS team at its creation and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for SQL Server. He worked in the Bing organization from 2009 to 2011. He was considered a senior technical leader in the company.[12][13]

The Hispanic IT Executive Council named Celis as one of the most influential Hispanics in the IT industry in 2009[14] and 2010.[15]

Other activities

Celis is an organizer, founder[16] and member of the board of directors[17] of Plaza Bank, a Latino business focused bank that opened in 2006[18] in Seattle, Washington.

He is a board member of Stronger Families[19] and the Washington News Council.[20] He has climbed Mount Rainier to benefit the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center's Climb to Fight Breast Cancer.[21]

He is the founder[22] of the Washington State chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly and served as its first chairman from 2001 to 2005. From 2005 to 2007 he served as National Chairman of the RNHA.

In the 2008 presidential primary campaign, Celis served as Co-Chair of the Mitt Romney for President Washington Steering Committee.[23]

References
  1. Pedro Celis at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  2. "President's Information Technology Advisory Committee - Archive". Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  3. "President George W. Bush Appoints Microsoft Representative to President's Information and Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC)". Microsoft Press Release. May 13, 2003.
  4. Revolutionizing Health Care Through Information Technology. PITAC Report. 2004.
  5. Cyber Security: a Crisis of Prioritization. PITAC Report. 2005. ISBN 9780756748654.
  6. "Pedro Celis Patent-maps".
  7. "Hispanic Business 100 Influentials 2009: Full List and Profiles". Hispanic Business Magazine. October 2009.
  8. "2009 Congressional Record - Extension of Remarks". U.S. Congress. October 22, 2009. p. E2618.
  9. "Fellow Microsoft alum to run against DelBene for Congress". Seattle Times. February 27, 2014.
  10. "1st District: Celis moves into 2nd place in primary tally". The Seattle Times. 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  11. "Rep. Suzan DelBene defeats GOP rival Celis". The Seattle Times. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  12. "43 of Microsoft biggest thinkers try to replicate Bill Gates' brain". Puget Sound Business Journal. July 14, 2009.
  13. "The 400,000 Hottest Men in Tech". May 2013.
  14. "HITEC Top Hispanics Executives in Information Technology 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-29.
  15. "HITEC Most Influential Hispanics in Information Technology 2010" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-22.
  16. Dietrich, Heidi (Aug 5, 2005). "Execs back Latino Bank". Puget Sound Business Journal.
  17. "Plaza Bank (PZBW) Board of Directors". Archived from the original on January 18, 2013.
  18. Scott, Alwyn (May 22, 2006). "As their Numbers grow here, Hispanics become big business". Seattle Times.
  19. "Stronger Families Board Members". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  20. "Washington News Council Members". Archived from the original on 2009-06-06. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  21. "Why People Climb Mount Rainier". Bellevue Reporter. Aug 31, 2009. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013.
  22. Davila, Florangela (Sep 6, 2004). "Race is on for the Latino Vote". Seattle Times.
  23. "Mitt Romney Announces Washington Statewide Steering Committee Co-Chair". Archived from the original on 2012-02-23.
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