STEVE BALLMER
CES Keynote Address: January 6, 6:30 p.m.
Occupation: CEO, Microsoft
Conventional sign of success: Ranked the 43rd richest person in the world, with an estimated wealth of $11 billion.
Breakthrough moment: June 11, 1980, when he became Microsoft’s 24th employee.
Awards: He’s got $11 billion; who needs awards?
Education: Magna cum laude from Harvard University with a B.A. in mathematics and economics.
Videos: “Steve Ballmer going crazy,” YouTube
Played by: John DiMaggio in Pirates of Silicon Valley
Representative quote: “I’ve got my kids brainwashed: You don’t use Google, and you don’t use an iPod.”
SASHA GREY
AVN Keynote Address: January 9, 1:30 p.m.
Occupation: Pornographic actress
Conventional sign of success: Esquire called her performance in Steven Soderbergh’s mainstream film The Girlfriend Experience “unrefined but totally captivating.”
Breakthrough moment: Orgy scene with Rocco Siffredi in The Fashionistas 2
Awards: “Female Performer of the Year,” “Best Oral Sex Scene”
Education: Junior college
Videos: Take your pick: Gray’s filmography is up to 182.
Nickname: Sasha Grey (Sasha from Sascha Konietzko of the band KMFDM and “Grey” from Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray). Her real name is Marina Ann Hantzis.
Signature quote: “If you look at me and you think ‘Here’s a woman who’s intelligent, cognizant and making her own choices,’ and you still tell me that what I’m doing is wrong, screw you, because that should end the debate.”
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