Our new WorkingNation film Microsoft: Fostering Global Talent with a Vision to Empower the World delves into the unique culture of tech giant Microsoft’s work environment, looking at the company’s commitment to nurturing international talent, driven by a corporate mission to create an inclusive environment in which every employee thrives.
Microsoft’s Silicon Valley campus opened in March of 2022, embracing a philosophy in which the convergence of international talent and a transformative culture takes precedence over mere academic qualifications. Two distinct stories unfold, highlighting the impact of this approach on individual growth and career success.
The film looks at the impact of this approach through the stories of Namrita Grover, principal manager of data science at Microsoft, and Shawn Villaron, the VP and general manager of PowerPoint at Microsoft Bay Area.
Namrita Grover’s journey to a principal manager role in data science at Microsoft exemplifies this transformative power. Namrita moved to the U.S. from India for her family and was a stay-at-home mom for over a decade before she began with Microsoft. At Microsoft, she says, she has been able to thrive and grow into her position because of the work flexibility and the nurturing trust the company has given her.
Shawn Villaron never graduated from college, yet soared to success at Microsoft. Fueled by his passion for work and backed by his exceptional skills, he says he now has a thriving career that he loves. His belief in Microsoft and their approach to the corporate culture is uplifting, showcasing the impact of a non-traditional pathway.
This documentary brings to light how a nurturing, trusting, and cultivating work environment leads to loyal, healthy, and happy employees.
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation which produces computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washington, United States.
That committment to its employees and community has led to many awards and recognitions, including by the American Opportunity Index (AOI), which identified Microsoft as a top employer in 2023 and 2022.
AOI is a analysis of the nation’s top 250 biggest companies – and their investment in their employees and their careers – from Harvard Business School, Burning Glass Institute, and Schultz Family Foundation.
Read more about the 2023 American Opportunity Index report here.
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Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.
Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.
Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.
Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.
Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.
Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.
