Mark Shuttleworth
Born 1973 · Age 52
South African-British entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Canonical (Ubuntu), philanthropist and space tourist; first citizen of an independent African country to travel to space.
Compare Your Trajectory
See how your career milestones stack up against Mark Shuttleworth and other industry leaders.
Life & Career Timeline
Born in Welkom, South Africa
Mark Richard Shuttleworth was born in Welkom, Free State, to a surgeon and a nursery-school teacher.
Head Boy at Western Province Preparatory School
Served as Head Boy at Western Province Preparatory School.
Participated as a Debian developer (1990s)
Participated as a developer in the Debian project in the 1990s; credited as the first to upload Apache HTTP Server into Debian archives (1990s-era contribution). Year is approximate within the 1990s.
Head Boy at Bishops/Diocesan College
Served as Head Boy at Bishops/Diocesan College (Diocesan College).
Founded Thawte Consulting
Founded Thawte Consulting, specialising in digital certificates and internet security; started while a student (from his parents' garage, per multiple accounts).
Bachelor's degree, University of Cape Town
Obtained a Bachelor of Business Science degree in Finance and Information Systems at the University of Cape Town; involved in installing the university's first residential Internet connections.
Sold Thawte to VeriSign
VeriSign purchased Thawte in December 1999. Sale proceeds reported as R3.5 billion (reported USD amount US$575 million at the time; equivalent to ~US$989 million in 2023 figures referenced).
Formed HBD Venture Capital (Here Be Dragons)
Founded HBD Venture Capital, a business incubator and venture capital provider (now managed by Knife Capital).
Founded the Shuttleworth Foundation
Created the Shuttleworth Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to social innovation and funding education and open-source projects in South Africa (e.g., Freedom Toaster).
Started spaceflight training
Began approximately one year of training and preparation for Soyuz/ISS flight, including about seven months in Star City, Russia.
Spoke with South African leaders from space
From orbit, spoke via video link to President Thabo Mbeki for Freedom Day celebrations and conducted a radio conversation involving Nelson Mandela and a young South African (Michelle Foster).
Received an honorary doctorate (University of Cape Town)
Reportedly awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree by the University of Cape Town (sources indicate 2002).
Launched to space on Soyuz TM-34 (space tourist)
Launched as a self-funded space tourist aboard Soyuz TM-34 (Space Adventures) to the International Space Station; became the first citizen of an independent African country to travel to space and the first South African in space.
Docked with the International Space Station
Soyuz docked with the ISS two days after launch; Shuttleworth spent eight days aboard conducting scientific experiments (AIDS and genome research) for South Africa.
Returned to Earth from Soyuz TM-33
Returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-33 after eight days on the ISS.
Antarctica voyage and Debian recruiting
While traveling to Antarctica aboard the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov, took Debian mailing-list archives to compile a list of potential hires for Ubuntu/Canonical.
Founded Canonical Ltd.
Formed Canonical to promote and commercially support free software projects, most notably Ubuntu (a Debian-based Linux distribution funded by Canonical).
Founded the Ubuntu Foundation (initial investment)
Created the Ubuntu Foundation and made an initial investment of US$10,000,000 to support the Ubuntu project.
Purchased 65% stake in Impi Linux
Acquired a controlling 65% stake in Impi Linux, expanding investment in Linux-related ventures.
Became first Patron of KDE
Announced as the first Patron of KDE, the highest level of commercial sponsorship for the KDE project (support for Kubuntu followed until 2012).
Announced stepping down as Canonical CEO
Announced he would step down as CEO of Canonical to focus on product design, partnerships and customers; Jane Silber (COO) designated as successor effective March 2010.
Stepped down as Canonical CEO (effective)
Jane Silber succeeded him as CEO of Canonical; Shuttleworth shifted focus to product, partnerships and customers.
Received honorary degree from the Open University
Awarded an honorary degree by the Open University in recognition of his work in free and open-source software.
Ended KDE patronage and Kubuntu financial support
The patronage relationship and financial support for Kubuntu (KDE-based Ubuntu variant) that began in 2006 ended in 2012.
Defended Ubuntu Unity ‘online search’ anonymisation
Responded publicly (blog) defending the anonymisation method used by Ubuntu when sending local Unity Dash searches to Canonical servers; later the feature was reversed.
Debated at the Oxford Union – 'The Innovation Enigma'
Participated in a high-profile Oxford Union debate alongside Kenneth Rogoff, opposing Garry Kasparov and Peter Thiel on innovation topics.
Received Austrian 'Big Brother Award' (anti-privacy)
Ubuntu (and Shuttleworth) received a Big Brother Award in Austria for sending local Unity Dash searches to Canonical servers by default.
Public legal action: sought R250 million back from SARB
Public reports indicate Shuttleworth sought the return of a R250 million levy imposed by the South African Reserve Bank when he moved R2.5 billion to the Isle of Man; he actively pursued legal redress.
Constitutional Court rules against Shuttleworth in exit charge case
South Africa's Constitutional Court reversed lower courts and held that the exit charge on moving capital (the R250 million levy) was constitutionally valid; Shuttleworth lost the appeal.
Returned as CEO of Canonical
Shuttleworth returned to the CEO role at Canonical; Jane Silber moved to Canonical's board of directors.
Sunday Times Rich List estimate
The Sunday Times Rich List estimated Shuttleworth's personal worth at £500 million in 2020.
Key Achievement Ages
Explore what Mark Shuttleworth and others achieved at these notable ages:
Similar Trajectories
Charlamagne tha God
Born 1978 · Age 47
Known professionally as Charlamagne tha God, American radio host, TV presenter, podcaster, and author; co-host of The Breakfast Club and founder of the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Negin Farsad
Born 1978 · Age 47
American comedian, actress, writer and filmmaker known for social-justice comedy, documentaries (Nerdcore Rising, The Muslims Are Coming!), the podcast Fake the Nation, and the book How to Make White People Laugh.
Rana el Kaliouby
Born 1978 · Age 47
Egyptian-American computer scientist, entrepreneur and AI leader, co‑founder of Affectiva, pioneer of Emotion AI, author and advocate for ethical AI.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Born 1978 · Age 47
Ukrainian politician and former entertainer; co‑founder of Kvartal 95; elected sixth President of Ukraine in 2019; wartime leader since Russia's 2022 full‑scale invasion.
Farhad Manjoo
Born 1978 · Age 47
American technology and opinion journalist; columnist for Slate, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times; author of True Enough; contributor to NPR.
Steve Chen
Born 1978 · Age 47
Taiwanese‑American software engineer and internet entrepreneur; co‑founder and former CTO of YouTube; co‑founder of AVOS Systems and MixBit; launched Nom.com; later joined Google Ventures and invested in Taiwanese startups.