Beyond the Blue Badge

Making the most of markets, people and leadership Jan Muhlfeit joined Microsoft in 1993 after being with Software602 (then a startup), and he said it was one of the best decisions in his life. It's been 10 years since Jan left his 22-year career at Microsoft, and he has carried forth the focus on unlocking potential. When Jan left the company, he was Chairman of Europe and now he coaches executive...

How data science and generative AI are changing the world — for good.   In his last role at Microsoft, John Kahan headed up what would become Microsoft's AI for Good efforts. To this day, John continues to use data and AI to help solve the world's problems whether it's via his work with Aaron Matthew SIDS Research Foundation at Seattle Children's hospital or advising organizations that include U.S...

The path to board service starts with planning, networking When Steve Guggenheimer left Microsoft as a corporate vice president in 2020 after a 27-year career, he had already been thinking about what he wanted his next career milestone to be — board service. He started laying the groundwork for that while still at the company, and now he is a non-executive director for HSBC Holdings, Forrit, Leupo...

Corporate investing with Adam Coccari Advice for startups eyeing corporate venture capital Adam Coccari leads Intuit Ventures. Before that, he was on the early Microsoft Ventures team, which became M12. Before that, he was a startup founder. Adam shares insights about differences between venture capital and corporate venture capital, or CVC, advice he has for startup leaders and more when he talks...

Embracing change leads to great growth, success In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Michael Rawding talks with Eriko Asai, co-founder of Trinity Indo-Pacific Partners. Before starting her strategic advisory firm, Eriko held notable positions that included director of policy outreach, legal and corporate affairs for Microsoft Japan and President of GE Japan. Eriko and Michael talk about...

Insights on embracing change in a dynamic world  In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Michael Rawding interviews Haresh Khoobchandani, a former Microsoft leader who is now a vice president at Autodesk and the author of "Growth by Choice." Haresh discusses his leadership philosophy, trends and opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region, and advice for current and aspiring leaders in this ra...

In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Rich Kaplan talks with former Microsoft executive Jeff Raikes, who shares his journey before, during and after working at Microsoft. In the final part of this three-part episode, Jeff talks about leading the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the work he and Tricia Raikes are doing with The Raikes Foundation, being part of a Major League Baseball own...

In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Rich Kaplan talks with former Microsoft executive Jeff Raikes, who shares his journey before, during and after working at Microsoft. In Part 3 of this three-part episode, Jeff talks about the opportunities to land business and key strategies he worked on at Microsoft that helped change the world and what he learned from the leadership at Microsoft.

Early learnings from early Microsoft In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Rich Kaplan talks with former Microsoft executive Jeff Raikes, who shares his journey before, during and after working at Microsoft. In Part 1 of this three-part episode, Jeff talks about how he went from a farm in Nebraska to working in technology and how he got interested in software while working at Apple Comput...

Providing unvarnished insights about innovation throughout history In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Dee Dee Walsh talks with Robert Scoble, a well-known technology evangelist, blogger and author who worked at Microsoft from 2003 to 2006. They discuss his experience of interviewing hundreds of Microsoft employees, from Bill Gates to the janitor, using a small video camera and blogging...

Following your passions and curiosity can lead you to the top   In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, Peter Proud interviews Nicola Hodson, the chief executive of UK and Ireland for IBM, about her career journey and her passion for S TEM . Nicola shares how she was inspired by her father, who worked in the chemical industry, and by the Concorde, the supersonic aircraft that used to fly over he...

Artificial intelligence and the art of the possible If you're into AI and what's possible, this latest episode of Beyond the Blue Badge will have you leaning in. Host T.A. McCann talks to Rahul Sood. Rahul is a serial entrepreneur who started the Bing Fund and eventually Microsoft Ventures while at the company. Founded and sold Unikrn, the world-class esports betting and entertainment media compan...

In the latest Beyond the Blue Badge , Michael Rawding hosts Rajiv Kaul , who was talking to us from Mumbai, India. Ra ji v is currently the executive vice chair and CEO of CMS Infosystem s, India's largest physical payments company and the world's largest ATM cash management company. Prior to joining CMS, He had a distinguished career at Microsoft India, including as its president from 2001 to 200...

Julie Larson-Green is no stranger to the Seattle tech scene. She is well known for her work at Microsoft where she led teams of hundreds for Office and Windows. She spent 25 years at the company before making the leap to Qualtrics. Speaking of leaps, she is now CTO at Magic Leap. Host Dee Dee Walsh, developer marketing & business development at Growth Acceleration Partners, sat down with Julie in...

Former executive Soma on how to unlearn your Microsoft ways     Pioneer Square Labs managing director T.A. McCann sat down with former Microsoft executive S. "Soma" Somasegar to discuss his work as a partner at Madrona Venture Group. A 27-year veteran of Microsoft, Soma is a legend, especially amongst Microsoft developers. He became corporate vice president of Microsoft's developer division and is...

Putting humanity at the heart of every decision Steve Vamos' impressive 40-year resume includes leadership positions at Apple, IBM, Microsoft and most recently five years as CEO of New Zealand-based Xero — a cloud-based accounting platform for small and medium businesses. In this installment of Beyond the Blue Badge with host Michael Rawding, Steve shares his thoughts and experiences on what it ta...

Lifting others through events, coaching, partnerships    After 25 years at Microsoft, most recently as the Global Learning and Experience Director, Nickie Smith is going it on her own as the founder of not-for-profit People for Change, to expand Be Bold for Change internationally, and help lift others through her executive coaching company, Bold Leadership Practice. Podcast host Peter Proud caught...

Investing in world-changing ideas Francis deSouza is CEO of Illumina, a biotech company working to improve health by unlocking the power of the genome. The Microsoft alumnus is well-versed in the startup world and chases innovation. He joined Microsoft when it acquired his startup and then left the company to start another tech company before moving to the biotech industry. In this episode of Beyo...

Collaboration and unlocking the power of data Kimberly Mathisen was recently the GM of Microsoft Norway. Today, she's following her passion as the CEO of HUB Ocean, a nonprofit foundation that is developing a groundbreaking data platform and tools to "change the fate of the ocean by unleashing the power of data, technology and collaboration." In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, she speaks wi...

Sharing stories for generations to come For 26 years, Tom Ikeda has been using digital storytelling to preserve history at Densho, a nonprofit organization that he co-founded in 1996 to preserve and document the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during WWII. In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, Tom sits down with host Paul Shoemaker to discuss his family's own experience...

How to become a differentiator in your career Before joining Seattle startup Skytap in 2017, Neil Holloway spent nearly his entire career at Microsoft. During those 26 years, he held various roles including managing director of the UK and president of Microsoft EMEA. Throughout this career he has had to constantly evolve and learn, while showing up as a leader. In this episode of Beyond the Blue B...

Discover the framework to achieve gender equity Allies are essential for creating change and achieving gender equity. Gavriella Schuster is working to teach more people how they can become inclusive allies. During her more than 25 years at Microsoft, most recently as Channel Chief, Gavriella was a change agent for gender equity at the company and beyond to the channel ecosystem. She left in 2021 t...

Creating new industry categories, trials and tribulations and advice for desired outcomes Robert Wahbe co-founded Seattle-based Highspot, a company that defined a new market category. Now, the sales enablement platform is valued at nearly $4 billion. During this Beyond the Blue Badge episode, Host T.A. McCann sits down with the Microsoft alum to discuss the ideation of Highspot, the trials and tri...

Smart interviewing to level up on representation Mohit "Mo" Bhende is determined to bring more diversity into engineering roles. After six years at Microsoft, Mo co-founded Seattle-based Karat, which provides the first interviewing cloud to help companies find engineers in an equitable way. In this episode, host Eddie Pate and Mo discuss how Karat is raising the bar on representation, its flagship...

Navigating the entrepreneurial ecosystem for startup success   It's no secret that many Microsoft alumni dive into the startup world after leaving the company. After eight years at Microsoft as venture capital and emerging business lead in United Kingdom, Bindi Karia did just that and has since spent her career helping fuel innovation as a tech industry guru, advisor, speaker and venture partner....