Jim Goodnight
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
As co-founder and CEO of SAS since its inception in 1976, Jim Goodnight has led one of the world’s most enduring and influential technology companies, helping define the field of data, analytics and AI. Under his leadership, SAS has enabled organizations worldwide to solve complex challenges – from accelerating medical breakthroughs to detecting fraud, reducing financial risk and improving productivity, supply chains and worker safety. SAS is widely recognized as a technology pioneer in the data, analytics and AI field with a long-standing commitment to innovation and trust.
In parallel with technology leadership, Goodnight has built a distinctive corporate culture that continues to stand out in today’s highly competitive AI market.
Goodnight’s commitment to work-life balance has made SAS a fixture on best workplaces lists worldwide, including No. 1 on the Fortune list for the US and No. 1 on the Great Place to Work Institute’s multinational ranking.
SAS software was originally created by Goodnight and colleagues at North Carolina State University to analyze agricultural research data. Now, with 50 years of experience, SAS has secured a solid reputation for innovation, positioning it among the world’s largest software companies.
Goodnight has consistently prioritized long-term innovation, reinvesting a significant portion of revenue into research and development – a strategy that has enabled SAS to evolve from its statistical roots into a global leader in AI and intelligent decisioning.
The company’s strategy to foster an environment where employees can reach peak performance has been showcased in Harvard Business Review. Goodnight co-authored “Managing for Creativity” with author Dr. Richard Florida, asserting that companies prosper when they make the best use of their creative capital. "Innovation is the key to success in this business, and creativity fuels innovation," he said. "Creativity is especially important to SAS because software is a product of the mind."
Born on Jan. 6, 1943, in Salisbury, NC, Goodnight has strong and dedicated ties to his home state. He earned his bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and his master’s in statistics from NC State University. He also earned his doctorate in statistics at NC State University, where he was a faculty member from 1972 to 1976. His passion for learning led him to endow several NC State professorships and make education the focus of SAS' philanthropy. In 1997, he co-founded Cary Academy, an independent college-preparatory day school for students in grades 6 through 12, with the goal of creating a model school for integrating technology into all facets of education.
A champion of education reform, Goodnight spearheaded the creation of a national Business Roundtable report calling on business leaders to support and advocate for efforts to improve early learning and third-grade reading proficiency. In North Carolina, he rallied a group of CEOs to the cause, which contributed to increases in funding that allow more eligible children to enter the state’s high-quality prekindergarten program. Under his direction, SAS has focused on helping students, educators, and independent learners develop sought-after skills through innovative programs, partnerships and technology offerings. Goodnight has also played a key role in advancing analytics education, serving as a founding partner of NC State’s Institute for Advanced Analytics, which launched the nation’s first Master of Science in Analytics in 2007. This institute is widely recognized as a pioneering program that helped define the modern data science profession and develop a new generation of analytics and AI leaders.
In February 2026, Forbes named Goodnight to the Forbes 250 list of America’s greatest innovators. Harvard Business School has recognized him as a Great American Business Leader, and Inc. magazine named him one of America’s 25 Most Fascinating Entrepreneurs. In 2022, he received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest civilian honor. Goodnight has also been awarded the CEO Great Place to Work for All Leadership Award.
Goodnight is an active participant in the Business Roundtable and the Business Council, where CEOs address global issues and business concerns.
