Reed Hastings, Chairman of the board of directors of Netflix

Reed Hastings, born on October 8, 1960, in Boston, Massachusetts, is a prominent American entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Netflix, a pioneering media-streaming and video-rental service. He held the position of CEO from 1998 to 2020 and later served as co-CEO until 2023, transitioning to executive chairman thereafter.

Hastings pursued his undergraduate studies in mathematics at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, graduating in 1983. Following his time in the U.S. Marine Corps, he dedicated two years to the Peace Corps, primarily teaching math in Swaziland (now Eswatini).

Upon returning to the United States, he attended Stanford University, where he earned a master’s degree in computer science in 1988. Hastings then embarked on a career as a software developer and founded Pure Software (later known as Pure Atria Corporation) in 1991, which he successfully sold in 1997 for a significant profit.

The concept for Netflix emerged in 1997 after Hastings faced a hefty late fee for failing to return a rented videocassette. Inspired by the burgeoning DVD market, he envisioned a subscription-based movie-rental service that could leverage the advantages of mailing DVDs.

Teaming up with business partner Marc Randolph (who departed the company in 2004), Hastings incorporated Netflix in California that same year and launched its mail-order DVD operations in 1998. He assumed the role of CEO shortly thereafter.

Initially, customers could rent each DVD for a seven-day period; however, by December 1999, Netflix introduced a flat monthly fee for unlimited rentals. Customers managed their accounts through the Netflix website, receiving DVDs by mail (up to three at a time) and automatically getting the next title on their list upon returning a rented movie.