Beyond the Blue Badge

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 experiences during WWII, why he started Densho, why it’s crucial to preserve history correctly and how we all need to speak up to spark change on the issues we care about.

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 Badge, Neil talks with host Peter Proud about leaving his comfort zone, navigating his career at Microsoft, staying relevant, and how to become a differentiator.

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 to focus on helping others become allies within their own ecosystems. Her e-book “BeCOME ALLIES” shares framework for great allyship and gives practical ways for people to get started. In this Beyond the Blue Badge episode, Gavriella sits down with host Ali Spain to discuss her experience as woman leading at Microsoft, how being the “only” in the room propelled her into this work, six actions you can take to become a supportive ally and why it’s crucial for change.

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 triumphs that came with breaking into a new industry space, how to achieve desirable business outcomes and advice for other startup leaders.

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 Brilliant Black Minds program and partnership with Serena Williams, closing the interview access gap, and why he always puts people first.

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. In this episode of our Beyond the Blue Badge podcast, host Peter Proud sits down with Bindi to discuss the stages of launching a startup, the six characteristics she notices of a successful entrepreneur, the importance of utilizing your network in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and how she’s investing in the innovation of today.

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.