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About Steve Daines
Steve is a fifth generation Montanan who grew up in Bozeman, where his father and mother ran a home construction business. Steve’s parents grew up in Billings. His dad later went on to Missoula and graduated from the University of Montana. Steve attended public schools in Bozeman from kindergarten through high school, and graduated from Bozeman High in 1980. Upon graduation from high school, he attended Montana State University, and graduated with Highest Honors with a B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering in 1984. Steve was also selected to be a Delegate to the 1984 Republican National Convention for President Reagan. He was one of the youngest delegates in the nation attending the convention.
Immediately following graduation from MSU at the age of 21, Steve left Montana to work for Procter & Gamble. During his management career at P&G, he spent seven years managing operations in the United States, followed by a six year assignment in Hong Kong and mainland China leading the business expansion in Asia. After 13 great years with P&G, Steve and Cindy decided it was time to come back home to Montana and raise their four children in the state they loved so much. Steve worked along side his dad in the family construction business in Bozeman for the next three years.
In 2000 Steve joined RightNow Technologies, and has served the past eight years as Vice President at their global headquarters in Bozeman. Most recently, he was appointed Vice President/General Manager for Asia-Pacific. RightNow has offices in 17 locations around the world, and produces a product that is available in 33 different languages. They employ over 700 people and are the largest commercial employer in Bozeman. Over 350 of RightNow’s employees are based in Montana, and the majority of those employees are graduates of the Montana university system. RightNow Technologies provides organizations with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions to help companies and government agencies improve their customer’s/citizen’s experience, while at the same time reducing cost. More than 1,800 organizations worldwide use RightNow solutions including many Fortune 500 companies (Nikon, Procter & Gamble, Ricoh, Cisco, and Motorola to name a few), and many federal, state, and local governments (Social Security Administration, EPA, Department of Homeland Security are examples).
In 2007, Steve and Cindy founded Giveitback.com, a non-profit organization that advocated the return of more of the state’s $1 billion surplus to taxpayers. Steve was also asked by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to serve as his Montana State Chairman for his 2008 Presidential Campaign.
Steve and Cindy have been married 21 years, and have four children -- David (17), Anne (16), Michael (13), and Caroline (11). Backpacking, hunting, skiing, and fishing are all family passions! All four of their children attend public schools in Bozeman and the Daines’ are members of Springhill Presbyterian Church in Bozeman.