A lot of things happened in South Africa in 1994: We had our first all-inclusive national elections, the Nokia 2110 cellphone launched at a price of R4,199 and Taylor Gibb was born. Now, you may think that name is a bit random to be pinning in that list (because the Nokia fact wasn’t) but if you’re from Durban you may know of him for various reasons.

Like maybe the fact that he dropped out of school at the age of 14 after two weeks of grade 9 because he decided that computers were better. Or maybe you have seen him give talks at local tech events. Or maybe, he is your boss.

At only 22, Taylor has nailed the top position as Microsoft regional director in South Africa. He will be working closely with product teams in Redmond, Washington as well as local Microsoft offices to align both business and technical strategy with existing and potential clients. BOOM.

He has literally one-upped the likes of Zuckerberg and Jobs who dropped out of university:

Leaving school at 14 taught me that I work best outside of my comfort zone. Whenever I get comfortable doing something I know it’s time for change. I need to keep moving and challenging myself; it’s just the type of person I am. There are many times when things get tough, but to me it’s just another challenge. I look for solutions, not problems.

He began his career by fixing computers in his mother’s garage. He then went on to become a successful software engineer at one of the world’s largest software and gaming development companies, Derivco.

So how did Taylor get to become a Microsoft regional director? One may only be appointed by another director or Microsoft employee who has to motivate for a candidate. Once shortlisted, candidates are then screened to see if they are fit for the title at the Microsoft headquarters.

It is going to allow me to make a bigger impact in the technology sector. I am very passionate about setting up processes that allow you to maximise ROI [return on investment] on your technical investments and this role is going to allow me to make better decisions on both the technical as well as ‘process’ side of things.

Let’s just hope he won’t be as mean as Elon.

[source: news24]