Beyond the Blue Badge

How Microsoft reimagined products, sales motions, and ecosystems to embrace the cloud Take a front-row seat for one of the boldest transformations in Microsoft's history—the journey to the cloud. In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, hosts Becky Monk and Larry Herb (aka Major Nelson) sit down with alumni legends Steve Guggenheimer, Bob Muglia, Gavriella Schuster, and Karen Fazzio. Hear firstha...

How Microsoft's campus informed innovation and culture The story of Microsoft's iconic Redmond campus details how a bold vision turned into a tech landmark. In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge , hosts Becky Monk and Larry Hryb along with guests Jon Shirley, Buck Ferguson and Lisa Brummel take you on the journey that for Microsoft became about more than just office space. It shaped culture, in...

Microsoft's lasting legacy of social impact  Join hosts Larry Hryb and Becky Monk to discover how from its earliest days Microsoft built a culture of corporate and employee giving that rippled worldwide. With stories from alumni including Jon Shirley, Bill Neukom, Mary Pembroke, Patty Stonesifer, Dee Dee Walsh, and Akhtar Badshah, learn how the company's legacy extends beyond the technology it cre...

Paradigm shift offers tsunami of opportunities Before streaming, smartphones, and instant access to everything, there was a seismic shift that changed the world—and Microsoft was at the heart of it. In this episode of  Beyond the Blue Badge , hosts Becky Monk and Larry Hryb take us back to the early 1990s, when a handful of visionary Microsoft alumni saw the internet not as a curiosity, but as a r...

Vision, innovation and the power of persistence In this episode of  Beyond the Blue Badge , hosts Becky Monk and Larry Hryb share stories from tech pioneers Rick Rashid, Dennis Adler, and Dan Fay as they explore the untold story behind the founding and evolution of Microsoft Research. From Bill Gates' bold vision to Rick Rashid's reluctant yet transformative leadership, discover how a small softwa...

Microsoft's Windows bet and the evolution of personal computing In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, hosts Becky Monk and Larry Hyrb delve into the transformative journey of Microsoft Windows. They explore pivotal moments in Windows history, from the strategic shift to Windows to the revolutionary launch of Windows 95. Featuring insights from Microsoft alumni Brad Chase, Steve Ballmer, and Br...

Inside Microsoft's expansion journey In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, hosts Becky Monk and Larry Hyrb delve into the captivating story of Microsoft's transformation from a small company in Albuquerque to a global tech powerhouse. Hear from key players like Scott Oki, Bob O'Rear, Jean-Philippe Courtois, Orlando Ayala, and Sanjay Parthasarathy as they share their experiences and insights on...

Behind the bets that shaped modern computing Microsoft's early deal with IBM to provide the operating system for the first IBM PC is noted as a pivotal moment in the history of personal computing. In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, co-hosts Larry Hryb and Becky Monk share stories from early Microsoft leaders Steve Ballmer, Bob O'Rear, Scott Oki and Bill Neukom of how the deal came together,...

Season 8 recap with Sabine Morlock After eight seasons of producing the Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, common themes emerged during our conversations with dozens of Microsoft alumni. In this final episode of Season 8, host Sabine Morlock revisits some of the more poignant conversations and reflects on the lessons learned from this year's guests. Enjoy!

A ride through technology, leadership and philanthropy In part two of this episode with Microsoft alumnus and Lyft CEO David Risher, he discusses future opportunities in the rideshare business and how he is inspired philanthropically—including an experience that led him to co-found Worldreader in 2010, an international nonprofit organization to get children reading so they can reach their potentia...

A ride through technology, leadership and philanthropy   In part one of this engaging Beyond the Blue Badge episode with David Risher, CEO of Lyft, talks with host Rich Kaplan about his journey from launching Microsoft Access early in his career, to shaping Amazon's retail success, to his current mission at Lyft to "get people out of their houses and bring them together."

How Microsoft alumni can provide rocket fuel for the startup ecosystem Ken Horenstein cut his investing teeth at what is now Microsoft's M12. He leaned into the "learn-it-all culture" to soak up the ins and outs of venture capital before leaving to start his own venture fund. In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host T.A. McCann talks with Ken about his Microsoft journey, lessons learned whil...

The intertwining of experiences, values and purpose Following an impressive career as a technology executive, including 14 years at Microsoft, Kevin Ackurst transitioned from leading organizations to advising them. As the founder of Gentle Giant, he now focuses on helping leaders navigate challenges and discover their purpose using perspectives influenced by his own journey. In this episode of Bey...

Insights from a founder and startup leader Some may know of Tom Button as a leader in Microsoft's developer division and "Mr. Visual Basic." Others know him from his role as Corporate Vice President of Windows Product Management. After nearly two decades of shaping products at Microsoft from the late '80s to 2007, Tom went on to found Mobilize. Net in 2012, taking the role of CEO and later chairma...

World Vision Singapore CEO shares lessons from the journey Benjamin Tan is the CEO of World Vision Singapore. However, before landing at the international relief organization that works with children, families and communities to tackle the causes of poverty and injustice, Ben's career took an unlikely path from the tech industry — including two stints at Microsoft — to the airline industry to the...

Leading with a customer-first mindset After 12 years in leadership positions at Microsoft, Melissa Mulholland joined Crayon where she now leads the company as its CEO. Crayon, based on Oslo, Norway, is a global leader in IT optimization and innovation guiding businesses toward impactful technological advancements for the greater good. In this Beyond the Blue Badge episode with host Sabine Morlock,...

The journey from tech leader to venture capitalist In this Beyond the Blue Badge episode, Sriram Krishnan joins host T.A. McCann and talks about his journey in tech from product and business leader to investor and podcast co-host. The pivotal points in Sriram's career include leaving Microsoft in Redmond to pursue tech in the Silicon Valley, and later shifting from being an executive at X to becom...

B ecoming a Swiss Army Knife in his homeland of Costa Rica   Microsoft alum Kenneth Rivera has been in love with computers since he was 10 years old. He is a Costa Rican native and worked in the Microsoft subsidiary in Costa Rica where he managed a group of Customer Success Account Managers . Kenneth is now the vice president of engineering at Growth Acceleration Partners (GAP) . He joins host Dee...

Discovering gratitude, purpose, and a lasting sense of fulfillment After 15 years in various leadership roles at Microsoft, Krishnan Iyer is tapping into his passion of helping others. Specifically, Krishnan is focused on addressing homelessness, poverty and social inequity. He serves on the boards of organizations in the Seattle area that are dedicated to these areas, founded Humanize Homelessnes...

The sometimes convoluted journey to success.   Dan Shapiro is the CEO and co-founder of Glowforge, the iconic 3D laser printer. Following the biggest 30-day crowdfunding campaign in history almost nine years ago, hundreds of thousands of users are bringing their creations to life with a click of a button. Prior to Glowforge, Dan founded multiple other startups including the bestselling boardgame i...

David Do is the founder of Vietnam Investments Group, a Vietnam and Vietnam-US focused private equity firm with more than $600 million under management. This Microsoft alum was born in Vietnam but raised in Australia, educated in the U.S., and worked in China before returning to Vietnam to help fuel growth of multiple economic sectors there. In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Michael R...

Impact through influence and action Joanne Harrell has been an executive leader in the technology and nonprofit sectors most of her career. When she left Microsoft in 2021 after 20 years with the company, Joanne was leading initiatives related to AI, sustainability, and corporate citizenship. Soon thereafter, she became the First Lady of Seattle when her husband, Bruce Harrell, was elected Mayor o...

The impact of thoughtful leadership. Mteto Nyati is a successful business leader of change and opportunity. During his six-year tenure as CEO of Microsoft South Africa, he transformed the business which grew more than 60% under his leadership. His style embodies a focus on people, customers, and the importance of having an impact. In this Beyond the Blue Badge episode hosted by Sabine Morelock, he...

Prasanna  (Sankar) Sankaranarayanan, a former software engineer for Bing, is skilled at building, growing and scaling startups — mostly with success, and always with learning. In this episode of the Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, he talks with host T.A. McCann about his start up experience including his path to becoming co-founder of unicorn company Rippling and now founder of 0xPPL, a decentraliz...

Creating a more positive place with technology policy and ethics   Julie Inman-Grant has over 30 years of experience in the corporate, government and non-profit sectors, working at the intersection of technology, public policy and online safety. She started her career as a legislative assistant in the US Congress , and later joined Microsoft in 1995 as the second government affairs professional in...