William Hewlett: The Other Half of the Great Hewlett-Packard Company

William “Bill” Hewlett was an American engineer who co-founded the computer giant Hewlett Packard Company (HP) along with David Packard. Hewlett was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan on May 20, 1913. He earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering at Stanford University and took his Masters in Electrical Engineering at MIT.

Hewlett and Packard became acquainted with each other at Stanford. The idea of establishing a company happened in August 1937. On January 1, 1939, Hewlett and Packard formed a partnership which became the HP. The company was incorporated in 1947 and held its IPO in 1957. HP is known worldwide for its corporate culture embodied in what is called The HP Way. The HP Way says the company exists not only for money but for mutual respect and nurture of its employees.

Hewlett served HP as President from 1964 until 1977. He was CEO from 1968 until 1978 and chairman of the executive committee from 1978 until 1983. He also served as chairman of the board until 1987.

On January 12, 2001, Hewlett died of heart failure. He was buried in San Jose, California.