Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. is an American entrepreneur best known as the co‑founder and long‑time leader of Netflix.wikipedia+1
He was born on October 8, 1960, in Boston, Massachusetts, and studied mathematics at Bowdoin College before earning a master’s degree in computer science from Stanford University. After college he served in the Peace Corps in Swaziland (now Eswatini), where he taught mathematics, an experience he has often cited as formative for his risk‑taking and leadership style. In the early 1990s he founded the software company Pure Software (later Pure Atria), which he eventually sold, giving him both capital and experience that fed into his later ventures.forbes+3
In 1997 Hastings co‑founded Netflix with Marc Randolph, initially as a DVD‑by‑mail rental service that leveraged the then‑new DVD format and online ordering. He guided Netflix through its evolution into a subscription streaming platform and then into a major producer of original content, including early flagship series like House of Cards. He served as Netflix’s CEO for roughly 25 years, later as co‑CEO, and then transitioned to the role of executive chairman in 2023.netflix+3
Beyond Netflix, Hastings is active in education reform and philanthropy, especially around charter schools and school governance. He served as president of the California State Board of Education in the early 2000s and has donated substantial sums to education initiatives and scholarship funds, including through the Hastings Fund and The Giving Pledge. He also sits on or has sat on the boards of various companies and nonprofits in technology and media.linkedin+3