d10 ideas for backgrounds for corporates/execs in Cyberpunk 2020/Red

This article is inspired by this thread

Interesting Exec Backstories from cyberpunkred

Feel free to change and use them in your campaigns.

1 Thomas “Tom” Hancook
Thomas “Tom” Hancook was an independent solo, who was trained by the army. He was not only trained but also to lead other soldiers. At a special point in his life Thomas decided that he does not want to kill any longer for money. Being a leader Thomas wanted to lead a team or an entire division in a corporation. With this goal in mind he made his graduation in evening classes and from his savings and extra work he paid for his economics study at the university.

2 Sarah-Maria Cooper
Sarah-Maria Cooper was a member of a religious cult, which homeschooled the children. At 18 she escaped the cult and fled the city to Night City. By working in a store Sarah-Maria could pay for her economics and theology studies. She studied theology because she wanted to prove that the cult was wrong in their religious beliefs.

3 John T. Watson
John T. Watson was kidnapped as a teenager and became a test subject of a corporation. An undercover media investigated and found out about the tests on humans. After the publication of the story John and other test subjects sued the corporation and got paid a big amount. John used the money to get an education and to study economics.

4 Elizabeth Bradley
When Elizabeth Bradley was young, both parents, who worked for a corporation, lost their jobs. They wanted their daughter to have a better future, so they invested everything in her education. But Elizabeth became an outsider in school because she was poor. She knows that her parents did not have the money to pay for her study. Elizabeth studied hard to get the best marks, because her only hope to study was getting a scholarship. Because of her superb marks the poor girl got one. The foundation which granted her the scholarship went bankrupt before Elizabeth could finish her studies. She got the attention of a corporation, which paid her for the rest of her studies.

5 Todd Reynolds
Todd Reynolds is a member of a nomad clan, but he could never sleep in a RV or a car. For sleeping he needs a real bed and walls out of stone. Todd was different from the other nomads. He always read books and he was very good at mathematics including calculation skills. The clan decided to send him to university to study and paid for his study. Todd successfully finished his studies. He does not like to have debts and he is grateful for what the clan has done for him. To repay his debt to the clan Todd works for a corporation and helps his clan for free.

6 Matt King
Matt King is still a member of a well known guardian gang. As long as he could he went to a public school. Matt helped an exec who traveled in his neighbourhood. As a gift for his help he received a handheld computer with many books on it. The gang leader saw that Matt was intelligent, so the leader gave him the job of bookkeeping for the gang. With Matt’s work the gang grew more wealthy and more powerful. The leader also saw a golden future for Matt, if Matt could escape the poor neighbourhood and study. The leader collects money in the neighborhood and takes money from deals to pay for Matt’s studies. The future exec asked the leader why he does this, but the leader does not answer that question.

7 May Chang
May Chang is an immigrant from a foreign country. When May was a teenager her parents fled her home country and seeked asylum in Night City. Her parents have been corrupt politicians (or criminals) in her home country, who have embezzled much money. They paid May’s private schools and her studies. As an adult May found out the history of her family and how they gained their wealth.

8 Sondra Mendez
Sondra Mendez came from a poor family. Both parents worked as workers in a factory. As an adult her only capital was her beauty. She had no job at that time, but an exec recognized her beauty and made her his escort and joy girl. He also gave her money and expensive gifts and paid for an apartment. Her sponsor didn’t need her every day, so she learned different languages and etiquette to turn into a high society escort girl. After some time Sondra had several wealthy men as her clients. She hid her wealth in her own apartment and she never told her parents the truth. Sondra said to her parents that she lives in the apartment of her boyfriend and works in a store. At first Sondra stored the money she got into a bank account, but later she knew that was not the right way. Sondra knew she could do her job for a few years, so she invested her money in her education, going to evening school and later studying economics. After finishing her studies one of her clients offered Sondra a job in his company.

9 Vanessa Taylor
Vanessa Taylor was the wife of an older exec. He married her at a young age and gave her everything she could dream of. The wife could stay at home, but that was too boring for her. Vanessa started as her husband’s secretary in the corporation and she used her free time to study economics. On a business trip her husband was murdered, so she is now a widow. She stayed in the corporation, because she wanted to find out who killed her husband. After finishing her studies Vanessa got a promotion to an exec position.

10 Patrick Harper/Richard Parker
Patrick Harper and Richard Parker were friends from childhood. Patrick saved Richard’s life, because they both have the same rare blood type. In high school they were separated, because Patrick’s parents lost their jobs, so they could not pay for Patrick’s expensive school any longer. They commited suicide after a short time, so Patrick got into an orphanage. Meanwhile Richard´s parents were promoted and moved into another city. Richard wanted to help Patrick and invited him to go on vacation with Richard´s parents and Richard. They traveled to Mexico. Somewhere in nowhere their jeep had an accident and caught fire. Richard´s parents died, Richard was mortally wounded and Patrick was badly injured. Both were badly burned. Richard knew he would die, so he begged Patrick to take his identity as Richard´s last wish. Richard wanted Patrick to get the money from the life insurance from his parents. Patrick recorded their conversation with his phone. After Richard´s death Patrick buried his friend out of sight of the road. After the burial Patrick was found by some Mexican catholics. They took him to a hospital. He always pretended to be Richard. Back in the US he hired a lawyer to get the money from the life insurance of Richard´s parents. Nobody suspected him not to be Richard. He won the lawsuit and with the money he went to a good school and later studied economics. Once in a year he travels to Mexico to meet his catholic saviours and to visit the hidden grave.

Bonus:
11 Timothy J. Shaw
Timothy J. Shaw is the son of a high ranking member of the large fascistic prison gang, which also runs in and outside of prison criminal activities. His family paid for his education. He knows where the money comes from and he hates his family. He saves money to pay back every cent to his parents. His parents want him to run the criminal operations outside the prison, but so he can get rid of his parents.