Biography
Andreas "Andy" von Bechtolsheim is cofounder and chief architect of network switching company Arista Networks. Born in Germany, Bechtolsheim studied computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and dropped out of a Stanford Ph.D. program in 1982 to cofound Sun Microsystems with Bill Joy, Scott McNealy and Vinod Khosla. Much of his fortune stems from an early $100,000 investment in Google. He cofounded Arista in 2004 and owns a nearly 17% stake in the business, which he has earmarked for his heirs. Following SEC insider trading charges, Bechtolsheim agreed in 2024, without admitting guilt, to a five-year ban on serving as an director or officer of Arista or any public company.