About the Technical Editor
Niek Otten started in data processing in 1967 in an insurance company. He ran into VisiCalc in
1980 and has been addicted to spreadsheets ever since. His first acquaintance with Excel (version 1!)
was in 1985 on a Macintosh. Since 2005, Niek has been self-employed. He answers questions
about Excel in newsgroups and forums, reviews and edits Excel books, writes articles, and devel-
ops Excel-related software, such as a high-performance actuarial add-in. Niek has been a
Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for Excel since 2001.01_474877-ffirs.indd ix01_474877-ffirs.indd ix 3/29/10 11:34 PM3/29/10 11:34 PM