But that doesn't mean aspiring programmers should quit school and dash off to the nearest Internet start-up.
"There is a lot of interest in Harvard graduates as new hires," Newell says. "A Harvard degree is perceived as indicating potential but not guaranteeing success."
A Harvard education is still attractive, he says, because it provides a solid background in programming along with understanding of "the business beyond just the coding."
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But while Harvard may have helped his career off the starting blocks, Newell's work since then has clearly spoken for itself.
"After a couple of years in the software business, where you went to school isn't nearly as important as what you have done since then," he says.