Steven Hillion is vice president of analytics at EMC Greenplum, and has led engineering at firms such as Siebel, KANA and QRS. His educational background includes a major in number theory at the University of California, Berkeley, which got him thinking about moving software engineering closer toward mathematical applications.

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Graduating in 1979 with a double major in electrical and electronics engineering, Hukku spurned offers from brand-name companies, preferring to cut his teeth with software services pioneer Tata Consultancy Services.

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