Pedro Celis | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | ITESM |
| Known for | Databases Systems |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer Science |
| Institutions | Microsoft |
| Doctoral advisor | Ian Munro (computer scientist) andPaul Larson[1] |
Pedro Celis is Mexican engineer. He is a retired Distinguished Engineer fromMicrosoft Corporation.
He served at theU.S. President's Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) from 2003 to 2005.[2][3]PITAC advises the president on policies and investments that the federal government should pursue to enhance and maintain the preeminence of the U.S. in information technology.[4][5]
He holds over 15 USpatents.[6]
In 2009 theHispanic Business Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States.[7][8]
In February 2014, he announced a bid for U.S. Congress in Washington state's 1st Congressional District to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep.Suzan DelBene.[9] In August 2014, Celis narrowly advanced through the primary election[10] before falling to DelBene in the November general.[11]
Celis was born inMonterrey. He graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from theMonterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies (ITESM) and received both a master's degree in Mathematics (1982) and a doctorate in Computer Science (1986) from theUniversity of Waterloo.
He worked as an assistant professor at the Computer Science Department ofIndiana University. He later worked as a software designer atBritton Lee, Inc. He worked atTandem Computers from 1989 to 1998 where he became Technical Director of theNonStop SQL team.
At Microsoft from 1998 to 2012, Celis held several positions in theSQL Server group, including leading theWinFS team at its creation andChief Technology Officer (CTO) for SQL Server. He worked in theBing organization from 2009 to 2011. He was considered a senior technical leader in the company.[12][13]
The Hispanic IT Executive Council named Celis as one of the most influential Hispanics in the IT industry in 2009[14]and 2010.[15]
Celis is an organizer, founder[16] and member of the board of directors[17] of Plaza Bank, a Latino business focused bank that opened in 2006[18] in Seattle, Washington.
He is a board member of Stronger Families[19] and the Washington News Council.[20]He has climbedMount Rainier to benefit theFred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center'sClimb to FightBreast Cancer.[21]
He is the founder[22] of the Washington State chapter of theRepublican National Hispanic Assembly and served as its first chairman from 2001 to 2005. From 2005 to 2007 he served as National Chairman of the RNHA.
In the 2008 presidential primary campaign, Celis served as Co-Chair of theMitt Romney for President Washington Steering Committee.[23]
