Beyond the Blue Badge

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 shares his driving principles in these areas and how he has not only turned the lights back on for companies and his country, but for people and the community.

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 decentralized social network for the crypto natives. Reflecting on his journey, he emphasizes the importance of understanding market trends and executing effectively.

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 the company’s Washington, D.C. office. In her 17-year career at Microsoft, Julie held various public and government affairs roles including leading Internet safety, privacy and security first for APAC and then globally. After serving in leadership roles at Twitter and Adobe, Julie is now the Australian eSafety Commissioner. In this Beyond the Blue Badge episode, Julie shares her perspective on online safety challenges today and how she brings passion, persistence, and purpose to everything she does.

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 executives and Olympic athletes, runs seminars for global corporations, speaks at universities, helps children explore their strengths, and authors books. In this Beyond the Blue Badge episode, host Sabine Morlock talks with Jan about approach to markets, people, and leadership.

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. Venture, MidOcean Partners, Stagwell, Novartis Foundation and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Rich Kaplan talks with John about advances in data science, AI for Good and the evolution of artificial intelligence.

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, Leupold & Stevens and the Software Acquisition Group. He’s also an advisor to 5G Innovation Labs and Tensility Venture Partners. In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, Steve talks with host Rich Kaplan about his Microsoft career, the intentional steps needed to find corporate board positions and why your network truly matters.

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 with host T.A. McCann.

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 leading while female in Japan, the strengths, challenges and opportunities for business in Japan, her next chapter and words of wisdom for everyone to find what that looks like.

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 rapidly changing world.

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 ownership group and being part of the startup ecosystem.

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 Computer, where he was involved in the development of VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet. He also reveals how he got a call from Steve Ballmer, who recruited him to join Microsoft in 1981. He also delves into what it was like in the early ‘80s as an early employee of the company.

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 about it. He also shares some of his insights into the latest trends in technology, such as AI, VR, ML and AR.

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 STEM. 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 her house. She also reveals how she switched from dentistry to chemistry at university after realizing she hated the former. She talks about the importance of following one’s interests and being open to new opportunities.

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 company. And now is the co-founder and CEO of Irreverent Labs, which is on the cutting edge of using generative AI, shares what they’re doing and how they plan to disrupt the way we make movies.

In the latest Beyond the Blue Badge, Michael Rawding hosts Rajiv Kaul, who was talking to us from Mumbai, India. Rajiv is currently the executive vice chair and CEO of CMS Infosystems, 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 2005. His final stint at Microsoft was in Redmond, as senior director of the Emerging Markets Group. He talks about switching from a global tech company to a local financial industry company, how doing business in India has changed and where the best opportunities lie.

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 the latest episode of Beyond the Blue Badge where Julie shares anecdotes from her time at Microsoft and discusses what it’s like to be female executive in tech.

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 credited with reigniting Microsoft’s relationship with the developer community. After much reflection on his next chapter, Soma joined Madrona Venture Group based in Seattle. This was not an easy decision. In the latest episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, Soma talks about the decision-making process he went through when leaving Microsoft, the transition from operator to investor, and the essential qualities every entrepreneurial CEO should possess.

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 takes to lead a global company during a time of tremendous change. He advises on how leaders can be more empathetic and put their employees at the heart of what they do. He also shares his unique perspective of running a global company from New Zealand.

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 up with the UK native to talk about her starting an organization to meet her needs and those of others, international expansion, the power of coaching and more.