Beyond the Blue Badge

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, whi...

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 exper...

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 th...

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-...

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 fi...

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 int...

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 t...

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 multipl...

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 Eur...

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...

Allie Attenwoode loves data. As a diversity data guru, she's on a mission to empower others to utilize diversity data to inspire change at their companies. Allie joined Microsoft right after college and started in university recruiting before moving to senior recruiting operations coordinator. After Microsoft, she became a senior business intelligence engineer of inclusion and diversity analytics...

Eugenio Pace is founder and CEO of Auth0, a company that builds identity management solutions. Eugenio started as a consultant at Microsoft in his native Argentina before relocating to the Redmond headquarters as an FTE. He stayed for 10 more years before exiting to start Auth0, which gained unicorn status before being acquired by Okta for $6.5 billion in May 2021. In this episode of our Beyond th...

In honor of Microsoft Give Month, we're re-releasing our inspiring conversation with Microsoft Alumni Network Integral Fellow and TAF Executive Director Trish Millines Dziko. In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, Paul Shoemaker talks with Trish Millines Dziko how promoting diversity during her tenure at Microsoft became her fulltime job when founded Technology Access Foundation. Learn how her...

Ross Hunter joined Microsoft in 1983 and was one of the company's first program managers. He spent 17 years at the company before getting involved in the public sector. He became a representative for the Washington State Legislature and now is the secretary of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host Paul Shoemaker talks with Ross...

Ed Fries created his first video game when he was only in high school. He landed a job at Microsoft in 1986 and helped develop Word and Excel before running the games group. Ed was crucial in Microsoft's breakthrough into the gaming industry. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host Rich Kaplan sits down with Ed to discuss his journey through fast-growing Microsoft in the '80s an...

Mylene Padolina spent a decade at Microsoft helping shape diversity and inclusion initiatives, primarily surrounding disability inclusion and youth. Now, she's a consultant through MPadolina & Associates and works with various organizations on disability inclusion to support all. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host Eddie Pate sits down with his former colleague to discuss he...

Daniela Braga is founder and CEO at DefinedCrowd, a fast-growing Seattle startup that that's working to make artificial intelligence smarter. Daniela worked at Microsoft for almost seven years in multiple program manager roles in three different countries, including her native Portugal. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host T.A. McCann sits down with Daniela to deep dive into...

J Allard spent 19 years at Microsoft.  Leading teams ranging from 20 to 3,000, J helped develop multiple businesses, brands, and initiatives at the company, including Xbox. He was an early advocate of Microsoft's foray onto the internet. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host Rich Kaplan sits down with J to discuss his early days at Microsoft, the birth of Xbox, and the platfor...

In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host Eddie Pate sits down with his former Microsoft colleague, Jose Pinero. Jose spent 19 years at Microsoft in multiple sectors from entertainment services to diversity and multicultural marketing. Jose is a business and career coach largely working to empower underestimated populations. He's also launching the first Latinx startup studio to i...

Dianne Calvi is president and CEO of Village Enterprise, a nonprofit working in sub–Saharan Africa that aims to alleviate poverty through entrepreneurship and innovation. Dianne worked across multiple sectors — including an 11-year stint at Microsoft — before joining Village Enterprise in 2010. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host Paul Shoemaker talks with Dianne about how sh...

In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host T.A. McCann talks with his former Microsoft colleague, Terry Myerson. Terry is the CEO of Truveta, a new health tech startup that's building a data platform to better study U.S. health using de-identified patient data. Terry was an executive vice president at Microsoft for more than 21 years before joining Madrona Venture Group and The Carlyle Group a...

In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host Rich Kaplan sits down with alum Robbie Bach — former Xbox chief and president of entertainment and devices. As the 20th anniversary of Xbox approaches, Robbie reminisces on the early trials and triumphs of the industry-changing product. He also reflects on his early days at Microsoft, lessons learned in different product groups, and what h...

Charles Stevens spent 22 years at Microsoft as a corporate vice president from 1984 to 2006. Now, he's focused on what he calls "giving forward." Charles sits on the boards of multiple nonprofits including Seattle Children's and United Way of King County. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host Eddie Pate — who was hired by Charles at Microsoft — talks with his former colleague...

Microsoft alum Njideka Harry is founder and executive board member at Youth for Technology Foundation. Njideka is a social entrepreneur that experienced the "Digital Canyon" first-hand when she moved from her native Nigeria to the U.S. for university. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host Paul Shoemaker talks with Njideka about her personal journey to start and grow YTF, Micro...