Beyond the Blue Badge

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 and ‘90s, the trials and triumphs of building Microsoft’s gaming group, and the most successful products he’s been a part of including Xbox and Halo.

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 her time at Microsoft, what made her who she is today, and how you can get involved to make the workplace inclusive and help everyone reach their full potential.

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 her two decades working in cognitive technology, taking the leap to found her own startup, life as a female founder, and advice for early-stage entrepreneurs.

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 platform he’s built post-Microsoft.

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 infuse the startup world with diverse entrepreneurs. In this episode, Jose talks about his formative years at Microsoft, the importance of cultural knowledge in corporate America, and how he plans to change the future of work with his new startup studio.

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 she’s scaling Village Enterprise and why she’s rooted in empathy. They also dive into how tech, data, and partnerships are crucial in the fight to alleviate poverty.

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 and subsequently launching Truveta. He also is part of the Seattle Sounders FC ownership group. In this episode, Terry dishes on his time at Microsoft, the opportunities that followed, utilizing his connections to soar, and how his new mission is using data to save lives.  

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 he’s been doing following his 22-year career at the company.

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 about leading diversity initiatives, lessons learned over the past two decades, and the systemic racism that guides many sectors in the U.S. including business, education, and healthcare.