Since many years, we are searching who were precisely the founders of the ≠1 storage company in the world now with $22 billion in annual revenue.

We met one of them in 1994, Richard J. 'Dick' Egan, president, CEO and chairman - who passed away in 2009 -, and asked him the question: "What does EMC stand for?" He answers:" EMC stands for 'Egan's Many Children'. No really, it's Egan and Marino. He was my partner."

Current Joe Tucci with the same positions, in his opening remarks for EMC World 2012 in Las Vegas, NE commented: "The founders... Egan, Marino, Connelly, and Curly."

These two last names, with different spelling, are cited by many web sites as co-founders of EMC, including Wikipedia.

That's why we decided to publish yesterday a quiz - now closed - "But who was(were) the FIRST and last name(s) of the guy(s) behind the "C" of EMC, originally EMC² ?", hoping that one of our current 51,836 unique visitors per month could help us. Our mailbox was full, with the big majority of answers being all the same: they are Connolly and Curley, without their first names as we were asking for, or the "C" is just for Corporation. Among them, two visitors gave the exact first name of the two guys, and just one, the winner, specifying they were not involved in EMC at all and, more than that, proving it.

Our question, probably the most difficult one to be asked in the storage industry, was wrong. One of our reader, Dave Barnes, winner of the quiz and who will get a gift representing €990 as promised, send us the complete story of the foundation of EMC with an unquestionable proof.

He found the official juridical act of the foundation of EMC Corporation - not EMC² (look at it in PDF format). That was exactly what we never got and answers finally to the mystery.  

In this document from The Commonwealth of Massachusetts represented by Michael Joseph Connolly (see also this name below) as Secretary of State, dated August 23, 1979, there are only two and only two published as founders:

• Richard Egan, 32 (the 2 is difficult to read, the old document being written with a typewriter and sometimes corrected manually) Sturbridge Road, Wellesley, MA 02181
• Roger M. Marino, 43 Kay Street, Sudbury, MA 01776

The company is cited as based in 385 Elliott Street, Newton, MA 02164. [now 176 South Street. Hopkinton, MA 01748]

Conclusion: EMC was co-founded by Egan and Marino. Nobody else. There never was any Mr. "C".

But who are the Connelly (or Connolly) and Curly (or Curley) associated by mistake by several sources? Once more, Dave Barnes got it:" The real answer is that Joe Tucci made a joke about Connelly and Curly. Michael Joseph Connolly (note different spelling) was Massachusetts Secretary of State and James Michael Curley (not different spelling) was a famous Mayor of Boston. The only two founders are Egan and Marino."

Note: there was a (John) Connelly  employee at EMC that resigned on February 19, 2010 and without relation with the founders.

Eric Schnorr, NY/NJ channel manager, Isilon storage division, EMC, also send us an interesting source. It's an article posted in July 2004, Who is the 'C' of EMC? from local Massachusetts paper The Deedham Transcript, that quoted Dan Fitzgerald, EMC's facilities manager and the 12th employee hired by the company: "It's a trade secret. It's the most hidden secret at EMC." Not anymore thanks to Barnes.

Last questions to be resolved: why EMC made a ridiculous mystery for more than three decades about the names of its founders as it's an available information from all other companies? why Tucci did a joke (or lied?)? is there an unknown reason behind that or is it just a marketing stuff to maintain a mystery?

Who is the winner?
 As the founder of MarketingTactics, Dave Barnes provides tactical marketing consulting services and WebEnhancement Services to SMBs in and B2C spaces. He has extensive computer programming experience as well as over 20 years experience in sales and marketing for the computer and storage industry. He has worked for companies such as Digital Equipment Corporation, StorageTek, Unidata and EMASS. Dave is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) with Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Engineering and an MBA from Babson College.