Drew Houston

Drew Houston was born on March 4, 1983, in Acton, Massachusetts. He attended Acton-Boxborough Regional High School and later pursued a degree in computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). During his time at MIT, Houston was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and co-founded a SAT prep company. It was at MIT that he met Arash Ferdowsi, who would later become his co-founder and CTO for Dropbox. His early experiences, including a frustrating incident of forgetting a USB drive, laid the groundwork for his future entrepreneurial ventures.

In 2007, Houston co-founded Dropbox, an online backup and storage service, with Arash Ferdowsi. He is credited with leading the company’s growth from an initial concept into a service utilized by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. As CEO, Houston is responsible for the overall direction and product strategy of Dropbox. The company went public in February 2018. Before the IPO, Houston held 24.4% of the voting power in Dropbox, and his net worth has since reached approximately $2 billion.

Throughout his career, Houston has received recognition as a prominent figure in the technology industry. In 2008, Business Week named him one of the “most promising players aged 30 and under.” Dropbox was also highlighted as Y Combinator’s most successful investment. Houston was featured in Inc. magazine’s “30 Under 30” list, and Dropbox was recognized as one of the 20 best startups in Silicon Valley. In 2013, he was invited to deliver a commencement address at MIT. In February 2020, Houston joined the board of directors for Facebook.