Living person. According to our records, Tony Fadell is alive, so this timeline is open-ended. Recent events may be missing or awaiting verification, and details can change significantly.
See everyone currently living

Tony Fadell

22 March 1969 – present

Tony Fadell is an American engineer, designer and entrepreneur best known for leading the teams that created Apple's iPod and for his work on the first iPhone. After earlier stints at General Magic and Philips, he joined Apple in 2001 and later founded Nest Labs, the connected-thermostat company acquired by Google in 2014. He is the author of the 2022 book Build.

Comparing
Compare

Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Tony Fadell.

Life events

Born in Detroit, Michigan
22 March 1969

Born in Detroit to a family of Lebanese descent and raised across several American states.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Graduates from the University of Michigan
1991

Earned a bachelor's degree in computer engineering, having run a software company while a student.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Works as a diagnostics engineer at General Magic
1991 – 1995

Joined the handheld-computing start-up founded by former Apple engineers.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Leads the mobile computing group at Philips
1995 – 1999

Served as chief technology officer of the Philips mobile computing division, working on the Velo and Nino handhelds.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Joins Apple to develop a digital music player
2001

Hired as a contractor and then as an employee to lead the project that became the iPod.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Apple introduces the iPod
October 2001

The first-generation iPod, developed by the team Fadell led, was announced in October 2001.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Leaves Apple
2008

Departed as senior vice president of the iPod division after contributing to the first iPhone.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Co-founds Nest Labs
2010

Started the home-automation company with Matt Rogers, launching the Nest Learning Thermostat in 2011.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Google acquires Nest Labs
January 2014

Google agreed to buy Nest for about 3.2 billion dollars; Fadell continued to run it until 2016.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Publishes the book Build
2022

Released Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making, drawing on his product-development career.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓