Charles Garrett "Garry" Betty (March 4, 1957 – January 2, 2007) was President and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of EarthLink, a large American Internet service provider, from 1996 until his death. During his leadership of EarthLink, Betty grew the customer base from just under 100,000 members to over 5,000,000.

Early life and education

Betty was born in Huntsville, Alabama and grew up in Columbus, Georgia. Betty graduated from Columbus High School in 1975 He then attended the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

in Atlanta, Georgia where he received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1979.

Career

Betty worked for IBM, and received the IBM President's Award in 1982 for his work on the original

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...

. Betty subsequently became president and CEO of

Digital Communications Associates Digital Communication Associates, Inc. (DCA), was a company in the computer and telecommunications industry, located in Alpharetta, Georgia, United States. Overview Digital Communications Associates was founded by John Alderman, who led the compan ...

and for some time he was the New York Stock Exchange's youngest listed CEO.

Awards

Betty received Young Alumnus of the Year honors from the

in 1993 and was inducted into the Georgia Technology Hall of Fame in 2005.

Cancer diagnosis and death

EarthLink reported in a press release on November 21, 2006 (also reported by major news agencies including the '' Wall Street Journal'') that Betty had been diagnosed with a serious form of cancer which required him to take an undetermined leave of absence. The company announced that the

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

named Mike Lunsford, Vice-President of Voice and Access, as interim CEO. EarthLink announced on January 3, 2007, that Betty had died at the age of 49 from complications of adrenal cortical cancer.

References

External links

Official biography

The Garry Betty Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Betty, Charles 1957 births 2007 deaths American technology chief executives Deaths from adrenocortical cancer Georgia Tech alumni People from Huntsville, Alabama People from Columbus, Georgia Businesspeople from Atlanta Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American businesspeople