Steve Bennett

Steve Bennett joined Intuit in January 2000 as the company's president and chief executive officer. Since then, Bennett has combined the company's historic innovative and customer-driven expertise with strategic and operational rigor.

As a result, Intuit revenue grew to more than $2.3 billion in fiscal 2006 from less than $1 billion in fiscal 2000. In addition, operating margins expanded to nearly 28 percent in fiscal 2006 from 17.5 percent in 2000, while operating profits grew to $654 million compared to $172 million over the same period.

Intuit has grown under Bennett’s leadership by pursuing a straightforward strategy: Be in growth businesses, high-profit businesses and attractive new markets with large unmet or underserved needs Intuit can solve well. This strategy has led the company’s expansion into new areas that serve larger and more complex businesses, creating solutions that go beyond accounting and tax preparation. This includes Intuit’s emerging presence in online banking and health care, complementing its portfolio of flagship brands – QuickBooks, TurboTax and Quicken software, leaders in the small business, consumer tax preparation and personal finance management fields.

Since Bennett’s arrival, Intuit has strengthened its legacy of customer-driven innovation. It has developed an array of “Right for Me” products and services that solve important problems and make it easier for customers to solve nagging, everyday problems.

At the same time, Bennett has led the transformation of Intuit’s culture. He has instilled a “True North” mindset, where all employees consistently work to deliver best-we-can-be results for employees, shareholders and customers in the short- and long-term. His focus on increasing employee engagement and creating a high-performing organization has led Intuit to being named to Fortune Magazine’s “Best Companies to Work For” list for six consecutive years and Most Admired Software Company for three years running.

Bennett joined Intuit from General Electric Co., where he managed complex and diverse organizations – from consumer appliances to financial services – during a 23-year career. He served as an executive vice president and member of the office of the CEO at GE Capital, the financial services subsidiary of GE. In this position, he oversaw a portfolio of five different companies with more than 20,000 employees. Prior to this appointment, Bennett was president and chief executive officer of GE Capital e-Business. He was also president and chief executive officer of GE Capital Vendor Financial Services, a global leader in providing sales financing for manufacturers and distributors.

Bennett is a member of the board of directors of Sun Microsystems, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a bachelor’s degree in finance and real estate.