Frederic 'Fred' B. Luddy is an American businessman, the self-made billionaire founder of ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW), the dominant cloud computing company specializing in IT Service Management (ITSM). Born in 1954 in Hammond, Indiana, his father was an accountant and his mother a Catholic school teacher. Luddy had a challenging childhood and a difficult relationship with his father, who told him he was stupid and would never amount to anything.

Luddy's career was defined by his early discovery of his passion for computer programming; he was largely self-taught. He dropped out of Indiana University Bloomington because he was spending too much time programming. His career included roles at Amdahl Corporation and co-founding Enterprise Software. The catalyst for his venture came when his then net worth of $35 million was lost due to an accounting fraud at Peregrine Systems, where he was CTO—a massive failure that propelled him to rebuild his fortune.

Fred Luddy founded ServiceNow in 2004, just two weeks before his 50th birthday, propelled by the psychological urgency to prove he could start a successful company. His strategic vision was audacious: create a single, cloud-based platform to manage IT services and enterprise workflows—a solution he knew was sorely lacking after decades in the industry. He leveraged his expertise to simplify and automate complex corporate functions.

Under his leadership, ServiceNow grew exponentially, becoming the market leader in ITSM and expanding into Human Resources, Security Operations, and Customer Service. Luddy guided the company through its successful IPO in 2012. He stepped down as CEO in 2011 and transitioned to an advisory role in 2016, focusing on product development while remaining on the board. His wealth is secured by his massive equity stake in the publicly traded cloud giant. He is also a sports owner, having acquired a majority ownership of the San Diego Aviators (World Team Tennis).

Fred Luddy is a dedicated philanthropist, focusing his giving on computer science, education, and children's welfare. The Luddy School of Informatics at Indiana University is named in his family's honor. His structural social impact is tied to ServiceNow's role in automating and simplifying enterprise workflows for large corporations globally, driving immense efficiency in the IT sector.

His personal story of overcoming a devastating professional failure and childhood abuse to become a billionaire and a mentor (receiving the Horatio Alger Award in 2023) provides a powerful narrative of resilience and success.

Fred Luddy maintains the humble, pragmatic style of a self-made technology founder. His attire is consistently professional and unostentatious, reflecting his engineering background and his long-time focus on product development. His aesthetic is one of stability and quiet competence.

Residing in San Diego, California, his luxury is the immense security and autonomy derived from his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is defined by his commitment to software automation, technical innovation, and his passion for World Team Tennis.