LEADERSHIP PROFILES

Thomas Payyapilli


Thomas Payyapilli, Senior Director, Microsoft India GTSC

Thomas Payyapilli is the Senior Director at Microsoft India Global Technical Support Center (India GTSC). With a strong understanding of the business, he is responsible for the growth and performance of the India GTSC that is an integral part of Microsoft Customer Services and Support (CSS).

Microsoft India GTSC is based in Bangalore and was established in October 2003. The center comprising 1200 engineers provides technical resolution services to Microsoft's English-speaking Enterprise customers and partners across the globe. It is a final point of resolution for enterprises that leverage Microsoft technologies in their global networks. The teams work towards helping enterprises optimize their IT investments and help keep their business productive around the clock.

In his current role at Microsoft India GTSC, Thomas is responsible for a wide spectrum of management functions such as customer satisfaction, fiscal improvements, talent acquisition, service delivery, quality and employee satisfaction. He represents the India GTSC as part of the Commercial Technical Support (CTS) leadership that oversees strategic planning and execution for CTS worldwide and reports to Marlena Werder, Vice President, Commercial Technical Support.

Thomas was a key member of the team that set up the India GTSC in Bangalore in October 2003. Prior to his current role, he led the Global Partner Services (GPS) team as the Business Support Director. He provided strong leadership to the GPS business, set the strong systems and practices in place and improved the MS Poll results.

Thomas Payyapilli joined Microsoft in 1996 as a Business Development Manager for 'New Markets' and helped launch the organization's operation in Sri Lanka. He then moved on to lead Microsoft's Enterprise Customer Unit in South India where his team won the first million dollar deal in the education sector from the Karnataka Government. He was also instrumental in signing Microsoft's first Global Alliance Partner representing India in 1999. Thomas was responsible for starting the Developer Platform Evangelism (DPE) team in India. His educational efforts for the young minds of India include launch of the Microsoft Campus Challenge currently is popularly known as Imagine Cup.

Before joining Microsoft Corporation, Thomas Payyapilli was an entrepreneur, responsible for starting a software company called Alliance Infosystems. The company concentrated on building call accounting and CTI products in the telecom space.

Thomas Payyapilli is a graduate in Business Administration and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in International Management from the International Management Institute, Delhi.