Bill Hewlett - people's technologist

With David Packard, he became a founding father of Silicon Valley. Back in 1938 it all began, with $538 and a garage in Palo Alto. Little did they know then how that little patch of California would turn the world on its head, and still be regarded as the epicentre of technological development 63 years later.

Common theory has it that Bill Hewlett was the engineer where David Packard - who died in 1996 - was the businessman. But again, that does them a disservice. They were both human beings, who tried to treat the people who worked for them as human beings too.

Hewlett once said: "We did not want to run a hire-and-fire operation, but rather a company based on a loyal and dedicated workforce." That belief meant cash profit-sharing for all staff, open offices and regular meetings where people at all levels could have direct input on the business.

Sixty-one years in the black proved that the strategy needn't be incompatible with a successful business either. And being a humanitarian was far from his only skill. Hewlett's technical expertise and an ability to spot a 'killer application' did more than their fair share to make HP such a success.

When his engineers produced a desktop calculator, Hewlett is alleged to have said: "Now make me one that will fit in my shirt pocket." And the pocket scientific calculator was born.

Vision, business acumen, and a belief in people were what made Bill Hewlett great. Let's not forget his legacy, because human values are timeless.