Beyond the Blue Badge

In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host T.A. McCann talks with Kieran Snyder. Kieran was at Microsoft for more than nine years managing several UX groups. She got her start at Microsoft working on the core spelling and grammar infrastructure for all languages that weren't English. Today, she’s co-founder and CEO of Textio, an augmented writing platform based in Seattle. She talks with T.A. about being an “inevitable founder” and starting a company with her spouse. They also discuss diversity, how Textio’s board and C-suite are 60 percent female, and how she’s built a killer culture.

In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Rich Kaplan talks with JoAnne Kennedy. JoAnne was one of a handful of female engineers at Microsoft in the early days. When she left the company, she became a senior director of product development at MSNBC.com and then vice president of technology for the NBC News Division. Today, she’s vice president of technology at Nordstrom. Rich and JoAnne discuss the landscape for women in technology, the importance of diversity and inclusion and why women need to be advocates for each other.

In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Eddie Pate talks with Rodney Hines about his amazing career at Microsoft and Starbucks before taking a “coffee break” to start his own business, Metier Brewery. Metier is one of the few black-owned breweries in the nation. Eddie and Rodney discuss how inclusion is a main ingredient for Metier’s success.

In this episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, host Lora Poepping talks with Shannon Huffman Polson about her amazing journey that took, well… a lot of grit. She grew up in Alaska, became the youngest woman to climb Denali, became the first female attack helicopter pilot in the army, did a three-plus year tour at Microsoft, and went on to become an author and speaker to share her leadership lessons. Her book, “The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience and Leadership in the Most Male-Dominated Organization in the World,” is available September 8.

Microsoft alum Reggie Brown talks with Beyond the Blue Badge host Paul Shoemaker about his passion for education, and particularly about his involvement with two organizations – Rainier Scholars and Ashesi University. They also address education’s role in eliminating systemic racism.

Kai Bond was a serial entrepreneur before he became a venture capitalist. Before that, he was a program manager working with the MSN Mobile team at Microsoft. Now the partner at New York-based Courtside Ventures sits down with Beyond the Blue Badge host T.A. McCann for a frank discussion about challenges of starting companies, the importance of diverse investment teams, and three things all early-stage founders must do when they first meet with VCs.

Brad Silverberg was named P.C. Magazine’s Person of the Year in 1995 for his leadership on Windows 95. In part two of this two-part episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, the former SVP of Windows shares his memories and behind-the-scenes stories of the shipping Windows 95, launch party and his life beyond with host Rich Kaplan. A Champagne party and printing the Golden Master Carnival on Campus: Launching Windows 95 with Jay Leno Lines at Egghead: An emotional response to the public’s reaction Just another language: Localization and creating Windows for a global audience Worldwide phenomenon: Evangelizing Windows 95 around the world and a run-in with a German soldier 25 years later: We’re still family.

Brad Silverberg was named P.C. Magazine’s Person of the Year in 1995 for his leadership on Windows 95. In Part 1 of this two-part episode of Beyond the Blue Badge, the former SVP of Windows shares his memories and behind-the-scene stories of the making of Windows 95 with host Rich Kaplan.  

Beyond the Blue Badge podcast host Lora Poepping talks with fellow Microsoft alum and Glassdoor Chairman Robert Hohman about building companies on the foundation of transparency, how the innovative ideas that led to Glassdoor helped pull back the curtain on workplace culture and identify what REALLY matters to employees in today’s workplace.

Beyond the Blue Badge podcast host Paul Shoemaker talks with fellow Microsoft alum Ravi Venkatesan. Ravi has spent three decades leading organizations in the private, public and social sectors, across three continents and multiple industries. He was the former chairman and CEO of Microsoft India and founder of Social Venture Partners India. Today he’s UNICEF’s Special Representative for Young People and Innovation, and he’s also the founder of the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (G.A.M.E. India) and a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation. Paul checked in with Ravi to discuss why his focus these days is centered on youth and helping develop future leaders. (This conversation was recorded during the early days of the coronavirus outbreak.)