Editor's Note, Nov. 5, 2007 - Stuart Scott’s employment at Microsoft ended in early November 2007.

Stuart L. Scott is corporate vice president and chief information officer (CIO) of Microsoft Corp. Under Scott’s leadership, Microsoft IT is responsible for security, infrastructure, messaging and business applications for all of Microsoft, including support of Microsoft product groups, corporate business groups, and the global sales and marketing organization.

Scott champions IT as a value-added business for Microsoft. Working with all the company’s groups, Scott and his team identify opportunities, structure IT solutions and deliver measurable returns to the business. Scott is also the executive sponsor for Microsoft’s Operational Enterprise Risk Management efforts and supports the integration of management principles from the Quality & Business Excellence team, which drive continuous and breakthrough process improvements across the company.

Scott helps ensure that Microsoft is the “first and best customer” of its own products. In addition to maintaining a globally integrated set of enterprise IT platforms built on Microsoft^® technology, his team deploys prerelease versions of Microsoft products throughout the company. The direction and feedback his team provides to Microsoft developers help them enhance products before their commercial release. Scott’s “first and best customer” initiatives help identify and capture new market opportunities while co-developing innovations to software plus services. Scott and his teams also share their IT expertise with customers (via IT Showcase), providing them with firsthand insights on product deployments and the value of Microsoft technologies and services.

Scott joined Microsoft in July 2005 and reports to Kevin Turner, chief operating officer. The prior 17 years, Scott held roles at General Electric Co. (GE), where he most recently served as CIO for several divisions. He was recognized by CIO Magazine as one of the top 100 CIOs in 2003.

He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering, mathematics, and computer science from the University of Louisville, as well as an MBA from Vanderbilt University. He is a Six Sigma black belt and a graduate of GE’s Leadership Development Program.

Scott lives with his wife and seven children in Washington. He spends his free time with his family, coaching sports teams, leading youth groups, and playing golf.