Doug Burgum

  • Software exec tells Raikes School students to ask courageous questions

    Before the Raikes School’s Design Studio Showcase on Friday afternoon on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Doug Burgum, the former CEO and chairman of Great Plains Software and a former senior VP at Microsoft, delivered a speech. “Doug was a special leader in our industry,” said the school’s namesake, Jeff Raikes, who helped…

  • Tom Osborne, two ex-Microsoft execs and an astronaut walk into a bar…

    Today, one of the men delivered the keynote speech at an event hosted by the school named after the other man. And, for the most part, Doug Burgum and Jeff Raikes conducted themselves with the sort of decorum expected of a couple of former high-ranking Microsoft executives. But on Thursday night, Burgum and Raikes more…

  • Arthur Ventures looks to provide capital lift to local innovation

    As the chairman and CEO of Great Plains Software, Doug Burgum helped transform the company from a small software shop in Fargo, N.D. in the early 80s into a booming business that Microsoft bought for $1.1 billion in 2001. But what ended with a billion-dollar exit started as an idea that Burgum had to bet…