Portrait of Sharon Gillett

Sharon Gillett

Technical Advisor and Sr. Principal Research Program Manager

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About

I work closely with our research leadership and teams across the fields of artificial intelligence, economics and social sciences to bring their amazing ideas to life, communicate them effectively and foster their impact on Microsoft’s mission of empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.   I’ve particularly enjoyed contributing to research incubations including AutoML, AI for Healthcare, and most recently, Environmental Sustainability.

Prior to joining Microsoft in 2013, I served as Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the first Director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, and Massachusetts’ first Commissioner of Telecommunications and Cable.  I came to government from the academy: I was a Principal Research Associate at MIT where I researched and taught communications policy and served as Executive Director for an academic-industry partnership program. I started my career as a software engineer at BBN Communications Corp. and Thinking Machines Corp.  Every day I draw on these diverse work experiences to bridge across professional communities and drive for results.