ROBERT HERBOLD
Microsoft
Ad budget: $275 million globally
Agencies: Wieden & Kennedy, Anderson & Lembke.
Career: Completed a doctorate in computer science while Bill Gates was still in high school. Spent 26 years at Procter & Gamble Co., including stints in computer labs, brand management and market research. Promoted in 1990 to senior VP-information services & advertising and led P&G's drive to promote new-media marketing initiatives. After he joined Microsoft in 1994, the marketer has gone from nowhere to everywhere on the Internet; Mr. Herbold is pushing the company to be the biggest advertiser on the Web.
