Stay ConnectedBeyond the Blue Badge – by the Microsoft Alumni Network
Microsoft Stories that Inform and Inspire
This podcast features alumni who are leaders in business, careers and philanthropy as they talk about lessons learned, overcoming obstacles, finding their bliss and thriving post-Microsoft.
Copyright: © 2019
Using corporate experiences to fuel the nonprofit sector and change lives
Microsoft alumni have the opportunity to use their unique experiences to supercharge change in the nonprofit sector. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host Paul Shoemaker sits down with alum Alonda Williams, author, speaker and current chief executive officer at Big Brothers Big Sister of Puget Sound, which is provides mentorship to thousands of children. Alonda discusses how she uses her Microsoft and life experiences to lead in the nonprofit sector, why she's passionate about building confidence in young black girls, and how mentorship can transform our communities and youth.
Finding the right balance for a remote workforce
Microsoft alum Joe Levy is CEO and co-founder of Uplevel, a Seattle-based software company that helps engineering teams measure and manage their time and productivity. Like many companies in the early days of the pandemic, Uplevel went 100% remote and Joe has used their own software to pivot and tweak the way his own team operates, including experimenting with a four-day work week. He sat down with Beyond the Blue Badge host Ali Spain to discuss leading during the pandemic, managing a remote workforce and keeping startup culture strong.
How to cultivate and maintain rich partnerships
In 2000, tech giants Microsoft and Accenture came together to found Avanade. The founding partnership has evolved into a global leader that digitally transforms businesses using Microsoft ecosystems. Microsoft alumnus Adam Warby was a founding employee at Avanade and was named CEO in 2008 where he stayed for 11 years. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, Adam sits down with host Peter Proud to discuss navigating a company with two large corporate parents, crucial decision points to Avanade's success, advice for how to be a good partner and how he's empowering the next generation of business leaders.
Building a company culture where both your people and business thrive
Company culture can make or break a business. Growing that culture can be difficult, but it can also be the key to success. When your people thrive, so does your business. That's exactly what our new Beyond the Blue Badge podcast will dive into. Host, T.A. McCann, sits down with Anoop Gupta, co-founder and CEO at SeekOut, an AI-powered talent optimization platform aiming to help companies recruit and retain talent. Recently named CEO of the Year by GeekWire, Anoop discusses what he learned as Bill Gate's technology assistant, the pivotal decisions that led to SeekOut's success and why being kind remains a foundational principle of his company.
How to win the pursuit of diverse talent
A diverse workforce is key to a healthy, vibrant, successful and innovative organization, yet many companies claim they can't find the talent or don't have access to it. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, our host Eddie Pate sits down with diversity talent acquisition expert Cody Horton to discuss how you can fish for diverse talent to fill the pipeline, what your company may be doing wrong and practical tips for an inclusive hiring and onboarding process. Cody is a veteran of the United States Navy where he was a Lieutenant Commander. He did multiple stints at Microsoft first in enterprise support before focusing on staffing. In 2016, Cody founded Diverse Recruiting Experts to help employers attract and retain a diverse workforce.
With the climate crisis looming, more people are examining how they invest their money and what impact that has on the planet — both good and bad. Sustainable investing that benefits all stakeholders is becoming more prevalent. In this Beyond the Blue Badge episode, host Peter Proud talks with fellow alum Richard Peers about nature's role in finance. Richard spent 23 years at Microsoft, at the intersection of finance and technology. After leaving in 2019, he founded Responsible Risk, which consults financial services and technology companies on sustainable finance.
How to start saving the planet for generations to come
Climate change is at the forefront of our world's issues, and it's going to take all of us to move the needle. Kathleen Hebert has dedicated her post-Microsoft career to fighting climate change, an issue she's made her purpose. Her multi-pronged approach to change includes volunteering, investing, learning and making changes in everyday life that can have lasting impact. In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Paul Shoemaker sits down with Kathleen to discuss why and how she's tackling climate change, the environmental responsibilities that different organizations and businesses have, what the future of climate change looks like for all of us and how we can contribute. Kathleen was a corporate vice president at Microsoft from 1989 to 2003. After leaving the company, she spent 19 years at Social Venture Partners, deep diving into the world of philanthropy. She's now a venture partner, board member and investor at E8 Ventures, which is investing in clean tech for environmental impact. She also serves on the board of the Clean Energy Transition Institute and The Nature Conservancy.
Pursuing social impact at work and tapping connections to spark greater change.
In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, Microsoft Alumni Network Executive Director Ali Spain sits down with fellow alum Susan Koehler to discuss how everyone can pursue a social impact-focused career, the evolving sustainability industry and how partnering with connections can spark larger impact. Susan held multiple roles at Microsoft over ten years, including working on social initiatives related to child safety and trustworthy computing. Susan transitioned to sustainability when she took a role as chief marketing officer at Footprint before recently joining Persefoni, a climate disclosure and carbon management solution where she can combine her passions for tech and sustainability.
Leadership in turbulent times, navigating a complex industry and taking care of employees and customers
John Mangelaars is chief executive officer at Skyscanner. Headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, Skyscanner is a travel search engine which sees near 100 million visits per month. At Microsoft, John spent time as general manager of the Netherlands and led advertising and online in Microsoft Europe. After 23 years at the company, John left to become CEO of Travix International and then joined Skyscanner in 2021 — mid pandemic. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, John sits down with host Peter Proud to discuss leadership during crisis, the importance of taking care of people and customers and why he never lets himself get too comfortable.
Dan Lewis is CEO and founder at Convoy, a transportation logistics company based in Seattle which is now valued at nearly $4 billion. Dan worked at Microsoft for three years in product management and marketing for Hotmail and Windows, but he was always interested in startup life. By tapping his network and taking advantage of opportunities, he was able to launch Convoy in 2015, which quickly took off and now has 75,000 trucking companies on the platform. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host T.A. McCann and Dan discuss his startup journey, including disrupting an industry, building confidence and trust, securing investors, taking risks, make-or-break decision points, and adapting to change.
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