What He Does · Jared leads Microsoft’s Modern Work team, which is dedicated to helping every person and organization adapt to the new world of work. His team is driving research to help predict and shape what the future of work will look like across industries, while also delivering new products and features within Microsoft 365 that enable everyone to thrive. Off-the-Clock Pursuits · “I do my most important work as a husband, a father, and a church leader.” First Job · “In 3rd grade, I realized that kids in my class liked the way I made paper airplanes, so I made a little instruction book and sold it to all of them. It was my first taste of supply, demand, products, production.”
Jared Spataro
Corporate Vice President, AI at Work
What He Does · Jared leads Microsoft’s Modern Work team, which is dedicated to helping every person and organization adapt to the new world of work. His team is driving research to help predict and shape what the future of work will look like across industries, while also delivering new products and features within Microsoft 365 that enable everyone to thrive. Off-the-Clock Pursuits · “I do my most important work as a husband, a father, and a church leader.” First Job · “In 3rd grade, I realized that kids in my class liked the way I made paper airplanes, so I made a little instruction book and sold it to all of them. It was my first taste of supply, demand, products, production.”
What She Does · Having spent seven years in the Office of the CEO leading employee communications and investor relations for Satya Nadella, Stallbaumer has turned her attention to studying how work is changing. “I’m intensely curious about the intersection of human behavior, culture, and technology and how our tools enable people to have greater impact every single day.” Off-the-Clock Pursuits · Reading, writing, working on a children’s book, and trampolining with her two kids. First Job · “The oldest of six children, I grew up on a large farm in Nebraska where my jobs ranged from minding my siblings to herding cattle—good preparation for corporate life.”
Colette Stallbaumer
GM, Copilot and Cofounder of WorkLab
What She Does · Having spent seven years in the Office of the CEO leading employee communications and investor relations for Satya Nadella, Stallbaumer has turned her attention to studying how work is changing. “I’m intensely curious about the intersection of human behavior, culture, and technology and how our tools enable people to have greater impact every single day.” Off-the-Clock Pursuits · Reading, writing, working on a children’s book, and trampolining with her two kids. First Job · “The oldest of six children, I grew up on a large farm in Nebraska where my jobs ranged from minding my siblings to herding cattle—good preparation for corporate life.”
What She Does · With a background in visual attention and multitasking, Czerwinski focuses on empowering people by inventing new technologies that promote emotional resilience and well-being. “We are an interdisciplinary team working on areas including HCI, machine learning, and psychology, and we are passionate about bringing emotional intelligence to technology. We need it now more than ever.” First Job · “I was a waitress at Mr. Steak in Indianapolis when I turned 16. What a great way to improve your memory, learn how to multitask, and do it all with a smile.”
Mary Czerwinski
Research Manager, Human Understanding and Empathy, Microsoft Research
What She Does · With a background in visual attention and multitasking, Czerwinski focuses on empowering people by inventing new technologies that promote emotional resilience and well-being. “We are an interdisciplinary team working on areas including HCI, machine learning, and psychology, and we are passionate about bringing emotional intelligence to technology. We need it now more than ever.” First Job · “I was a waitress at Mr. Steak in Indianapolis when I turned 16. What a great way to improve your memory, learn how to multitask, and do it all with a smile.”
What He Does · Hecht helps increase the pace and responsibility of innovation within products like Teams and Office. He is also an associate professor at Northwestern University, and his background is in both computer science and the social sciences. Why He Does It · “Since the beginning of my career, I’ve been both passionate about the good one can do with technology and deeply concerned about the harm technology can cause. My goal is to accelerate the former and mitigate the latter.” Off-the-Clock Pursuits · “I’m an avid runner, and especially enjoy running in below-freezing temperatures.”
Brent Hecht
Director of Applied Science, Experiences and Devices, Microsoft
What He Does · Hecht helps increase the pace and responsibility of innovation within products like Teams and Office. He is also an associate professor at Northwestern University, and his background is in both computer science and the social sciences. Why He Does It · “Since the beginning of my career, I’ve been both passionate about the good one can do with technology and deeply concerned about the harm technology can cause. My goal is to accelerate the former and mitigate the latter.” Off-the-Clock Pursuits · “I’m an avid runner, and especially enjoy running in below-freezing temperatures.”
What She Does · Iqbal’s primary research expertise is in the area of Attention Management for Multitasking Domains. “I am focusing on how productivity is defined in the new era of multitasking and distraction, introducing novel ways of being productive and determining metrics for evaluating productivity.” Off-the-Clock Pursuits · Hiking and biking with family, cooking, learning to play a new instrument, reading.
Shamsi Iqbal
Principal Researcher, Productivity and Intelligence, Microsoft Research
What She Does · Iqbal’s primary research expertise is in the area of Attention Management for Multitasking Domains. “I am focusing on how productivity is defined in the new era of multitasking and distraction, introducing novel ways of being productive and determining metrics for evaluating productivity.” Off-the-Clock Pursuits · Hiking and biking with family, cooking, learning to play a new instrument, reading.
What He Does · A computer scientist, composer, artist, and author, Lanier is a pioneer in many areas, including virtual reality (he coined the terms virtual reality and mixed reality). He developed Microsoft Teams’ Together mode and conducts research in areas including applications of machine learning to theoretical physics, advances in user interaction, and Data Dignity (a strategy to enable computation to better serve humanity). Why He Does It · He declines to answer, as he has written books that attempt an answer and might not have succeeded. First Job · Goat herder.
Jaron Lanier
Octopus (Office of the Chief Technology Officer Prime Unifying Scientist), Microsoft
What He Does · A computer scientist, composer, artist, and author, Lanier is a pioneer in many areas, including virtual reality (he coined the terms virtual reality and mixed reality). He developed Microsoft Teams’ Together mode and conducts research in areas including applications of machine learning to theoretical physics, advances in user interaction, and Data Dignity (a strategy to enable computation to better serve humanity). Why He Does It · He declines to answer, as he has written books that attempt an answer and might not have succeeded. First Job · Goat herder.
What She Does · As Deputy Director of the Microsoft Research Lab in Cambridge, England, Sellen’s mission is to make sure that the future of work is all about realizing human aspiration, and that the tools we build make work more fulfilling. “The best kind of work has meaning and purpose, allows us to grow, where the process flows and doesn’t distract us, and where the machine takes care of the grunt work, allowing us the chance to be creative.” First Job · “Making fruit fly food in a biology lab, then putting them to sleep and counting them before they woke up. I didn’t always succeed.”
Abigail Sellen
Deputy Director, Microsoft Research Lab
What She Does · As Deputy Director of the Microsoft Research Lab in Cambridge, England, Sellen’s mission is to make sure that the future of work is all about realizing human aspiration, and that the tools we build make work more fulfilling. “The best kind of work has meaning and purpose, allows us to grow, where the process flows and doesn’t distract us, and where the machine takes care of the grunt work, allowing us the chance to be creative.” First Job · “Making fruit fly food in a biology lab, then putting them to sleep and counting them before they woke up. I didn’t always succeed.”
What She Does · Teevan helps Microsoft create the future of productivity by studying how people get things done and developing new algorithms to make them more productive. Why She Does It · “My research shows that it is possible to break many common tasks down into smaller pieces and use AI to automate the repetitive parts so that people can focus on the pieces where their unique insights matter most. I am passionate about using technology to help people work less but accomplish more.” Off-the-Clock Pursuits · Traveling with her “four wild boys,” playing Charades, cooking with “whatever is left in the kitchen.” See more of our published research on the future of work.
Jaime Teevan
Chief Scientist, Experiences and Devices, Microsoft
What She Does · Teevan helps Microsoft create the future of productivity by studying how people get things done and developing new algorithms to make them more productive. Why She Does It · “My research shows that it is possible to break many common tasks down into smaller pieces and use AI to automate the repetitive parts so that people can focus on the pieces where their unique insights matter most. I am passionate about using technology to help people work less but accomplish more.” Off-the-Clock Pursuits · Traveling with her “four wild boys,” playing Charades, cooking with “whatever is left in the kitchen.” See more of our published research on the future of work.
What He Does · Teper leads product, design, and engineering teams for Microsoft 365 including Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint. Why He Does It · “I joined Microsoft as a developer evangelist because I believed in empowering others with the Microsoft platform. After more than 25 years here, I am still inspired by our mission and opportunity to create innovative technologies to help people connect and work together.” Off-the-Clock Pursuits · Running marathons, playing guitar, family movie nights, hikes.
Jeff Teper
Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint
What He Does · Teper leads product, design, and engineering teams for Microsoft 365 including Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint. Why He Does It · “I joined Microsoft as a developer evangelist because I believed in empowering others with the Microsoft platform. After more than 25 years here, I am still inspired by our mission and opportunity to create innovative technologies to help people connect and work together.” Off-the-Clock Pursuits · Running marathons, playing guitar, family movie nights, hikes.
What She Does · Williams is responsible for empowering the world’s 2 billion frontline workers; her team has developed tools that help doctors communicate when lives are on the line, as well as tech that uses mixed reality to help workers solve problems with experts located millions of miles away. The team also worked on groundbreaking new features in Microsoft Teams that help workers make time for meditation or take a virtual commute that creates space to transition between work and life. Off-the-Clock Pursuits · Williams’s English rose garden has 150 varieties of old English and hybrid tea roses. She is also a voracious reader (especially of science fiction) and a fan of her cats.
Emma Williams
Corporate Vice President, Modern Workplace Transformation, Microsoft Office
What She Does · Williams is responsible for empowering the world’s 2 billion frontline workers; her team has developed tools that help doctors communicate when lives are on the line, as well as tech that uses mixed reality to help workers solve problems with experts located millions of miles away. The team also worked on groundbreaking new features in Microsoft Teams that help workers make time for meditation or take a virtual commute that creates space to transition between work and life. Off-the-Clock Pursuits · Williams’s English rose garden has 150 varieties of old English and hybrid tea roses. She is also a voracious reader (especially of science fiction) and a fan of her cats.