#empowHER50 – Talisha Padgett

Talisha Padgett believes AI isn’t just about technology—it’s about transforming mindsets, workflows, and relationships to ensure everyone, everywhere, can participate in the AI-powered future. 

For Talisha Padgett, General Manager of Marketing Technology and AI at Microsoft, the journey of AI transformation is not a sprint—it’s an evolution that starts with people. With over a year of hands-on experimentation in AI for Marketing, Talisha recognized a critical gap: while the technology existed, true transformation requires enabling every marketer to engage with AI confidently, responsibly, and daily. 

That realization led to the creation of the Marketing GenAI Center of Excellence (COE)—a strategic hub designed not just to build AI solutions, but to democratize their access across Microsoft’s global Marketing teams. “AI transformation takes time as you change mindsets, prove new possibilities, and form new working relationships,” Talisha shares. “My goal is to empower marketers with the power of AI and technology, through easy-to-use and understand solutions.” 

The COE is more than a tech initiative—it’s a cultural shift. By aligning Marketing, Engineering, Responsible AI (RAI), and senior leadership, Talisha’s team ensures AI solutions are not only technically sound but ethically grounded, business-relevant, and accessible to all. Her leadership has turned the COE into an engine of sustained innovation, enabling marketers at all levels to become daily AI practitioners, not just observers. 

Talisha’s approach centers on collaboration, responsible AI, and upskilling—engaging cross-functional teams to ensure diverse perspectives shape AI solutions, partnering closely with Microsoft’s Responsible AI team to build models on fair, unbiased data that promote equitable outcomes, and driving AI literacy across all levels of marketing to empower every marketer to confidently adopt and innovate with AI as part of their daily workflows. 
 

For Talisha, the mission is clear: AI should not be a privilege of a few but a tool that transforms work, fuels innovation, and opens doors for everyone. As the Marketing GenAI COE scales into FY26 and beyond, her leadership ensures Microsoft’s AI journey is not only inclusive and responsible but a model for the industry. 

Talisha’s story is a testament to the power of collaboration, empathy, and intentional leadership in driving not just AI adoption but an AI revolution that leaves no one behind. 

About #empowHER50 campaign

This campaign celebrates women leaders at Microsoft, past and present, who have been instrumental in democratizing access to technology, opportunity, and growth. By honoring their contributions over the last half-century, this campaign highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity. Through digital spotlights, a commemorative coffee table book, live recognition events, and more, the campaign inspires collective action toward achieving equitable societal goals. To learn more about empowHER50, please visit https://womenincloud.com/empowHER50 

To learn about Microsoft 50th celebrations: https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-50/  

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#empowHER50 – Jill Tracy

For Jill Tracy, leadership has never been about titles or accolades—it’s been about building bridges. Bridges between cultures, between people, and between what is and what could be. “Leadership is about courage, compassion, and the unwavering belief that change is possible,” Jill says. “Leadership fosters ripple effects that can transform lives. I strive to build bridges of understanding, empower voices, and foster a world of peace.” 

From her humble roots in the Chicago suburbs to executive boardrooms at Microsoft, Jill’s life has been a testament to that vision. As a first-generation college graduate, she began her journey as a Rotary exchange student in Brazil, where she first witnessed global inequities—and the resilience of communities rising to meet them. That experience shaped a calling. She later served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay for three years, igniting a lifelong commitment to justice, access, and dignity for all. 

Armed with degrees in Spanish and Communications from Marquette University and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management, Jill joined Microsoft, where she spent 21 years helping to transform the global digital landscape. From pioneering billion-dollar channel strategies that drove $1B+ in cloud revenue, to leading high-impact initiatives across Latin America and Asia, her leadership became a blueprint for scalable impact across markets and communities. 

But her influence didn’t stop at business metrics. Jill has mentored girls in STEAM through DigiGirls and Girls Who Code, led Girl Scout troops for over a decade, and championed youth education by bringing students into Microsoft R&D labs to witness innovation firsthand. Through her service with Rotary International, she continues to support women in tech, mentor leaders, and advocate for sustainable development and disease eradication efforts around the world. 

Now, as CEO of United Planet, Jill is aligning her life’s work with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals—empowering youth, advancing global collaboration, and sparking ethical leadership. Her current pursuit of a PhD in Leadership & Change from Antioch University reflects her belief that transformation requires both scholarship and heart. 

Jill Tracy’s legacy is defined not by personal success, but by the lives she’s lifted along the way—and the communities she’s helped unite through empathy, innovation, and purposeful service. Her story reminds us that true leadership isn’t about power—it’s about the power we give others to lead. 

About #empowHER50 campaign

This campaign celebrates women leaders at Microsoft, past and present, who have been instrumental in democratizing access to technology, opportunity, and growth. By honoring their contributions over the last half-century, this campaign highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity. Through digital spotlights, a commemorative coffee table book, live recognition events, and more, the campaign inspires collective action toward achieving equitable societal goals. To learn more about empowHER50, please visit https://womenincloud.com/empowHER50 

To learn about Microsoft 50th celebrations: https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-5

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#empowHER50 – Debbie Uttecht

For nearly two decades, Debbie Uttecht has been a quiet force of change at Microsoft—bridging the worlds of marketing, education, and inclusion to expand who gets to thrive in tech. Though she humbly describes herself as “not a technical person,” her impact is anything but peripheral. 

As a Partner Marketing Lead at Microsoft, Debbie has found her calling in translating product value into powerful, human-centered stories. But it’s her unwavering belief in democratizing access to Cloud and AI skills that sets her apart. “Curiosity and courage are the first steps,” she says. “We rise by lifting others—and by giving them the skills to soar.” 

In response to the persistent gender gap in tech, Debbie co-created a groundbreaking scholarship program in partnership with Women In Cloud and Coursera. The results speak volumes: over 5,000 women upskilled in cutting-edge technologies, and 18% landed new jobs. “Women make up more than half of college degrees but less than 30% of tech jobs. That gap is a call to action,” she emphasizes. 

Debbie also played a pivotal role in one of Microsoft’s boldest educational initiatives: AI Skills Fest, which included achieving a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most users to take an online muli-level artificial intelligence lesson in 24 hours. With her leadership in partner storytelling, the campaign galvanized 126,151 participants to complete an AI learning path within 24 hours, cementing the power of collective momentum and accessible learning. 

Her advocacy doesn’t stop at the office. Outside Microsoft, Debbie mentors aspiring professionals, raises three sons—two of whom are now college-bound—and serves as an active supporter of the Women In Cloud movement helping over 5600+ Microsoft Certification Scholarships made accessible for Cloud and and AI Skilling. She is a living example of what it means to lead with heart, impact with scale, and stay grounded in purpose. 

Through storytelling and skilling, Debbie Uttecht is expanding access to tech for the next generation of women, proving that you don’t need to code to make a difference. You just need to care, speak up, and build bridges that others can walk across. 

About #empowHER50 campaign

This campaign celebrates women leaders at Microsoft, past and present, who have been instrumental in democratizing access to technology, opportunity, and growth. By honoring their contributions over the last half-century, this campaign highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity. Through digital spotlights, a commemorative coffee table book, live recognition events, and more, the campaign inspires collective action toward achieving equitable societal goals. To learn more about empowHER50, please visit https://womenincloud.com/empowHER50 

To learn about Microsoft 50th celebrations: https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-50/  

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#empowHER50 – Chaitra Vedullapalli

When access becomes an ecosystem, women don’t just succeed—they transform the world. 

In 1995, Chaitra Vedullapalli sat in front of a TV, mesmerized by the Windows 95 launch. It wasn’t just a product debut—it was a declaration: that access to technology could change everything. That spark ignited her life’s mission to build ecosystems of opportunity. 

At Microsoft, Chaitra became a force of transformation. She unified 45 global partner programs into what is now Partner Center, secured $80M to support 400,000 partners, and streamlined over 1,000 sales portals into one platform—saving the company $100M. During the 2008 economic downturn, she led a financing initiative that unlocked $1B in revenue, proving that innovation thrives in adversity. 

But Chaitra’s vision was always bigger than the boardroom. 

As co-founder and president of Women in Cloud, she has opened over $500M in economic access for women in 80+ countries through accelerators, AI, and cybersecurity certifications, and global awards. Her ICONS Initiative bridges technology and storytelling, producing an Oscar-qualified film and elevating untold voices to influence policy and perception. 

Now, she’s stepping into her boldest chapter yet: launching a $100M GTM Fund to scale inclusive innovation across tech, film, and wellness. Guided by the ICONIC Leadership Framework and her signature SIP Method—Serving, Influencing, Partnering—featured in her TED Talk, she’s turning purpose into powerful playbooks, unlocking access for the next generation of visionary leaders. 

“ICONIC leadership is not about who sits at the table—but who has access to it, who’s impacted by it, and how decisions create prosperity for all.”– Chaitra Vedullapalli 

#empowHER50 isn’t just a milestone for her—it’s a time capsule, preserving the blueprints of how women helped lead trillion-dollar shifts in access, innovation, and power. 

Chaitra’s story is a call to action: architect boldly, lead inclusively, and leave a legacy that lifts generations. 

 
About #empowHER50 campaign

This campaign celebrates women leaders at Microsoft, past and present, who have been instrumental in democratizing access to technology, opportunity, and growth. By honoring their contributions over the last half-century, this campaign highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity. Through digital spotlights, a commemorative coffee table book, live recognition events, and more, the campaign inspires collective action toward achieving equitable societal goals. To learn more about empowHER50, please visit https://womenincloud.com/empowHER50 

To learn about Microsoft 50th celebrations: https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-50/  

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#empowHER50 – Aarti Borkar

For Aarti Borkar, every challenge is an invitation—to innovate, to collaborate, and to lead with purpose. A self-described “data geek” with a passion for math and systems thinking, Aarti has spent her career turning complexity into clarity across some of the world’s most critical technology frontiers. 

Now Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Security’s Customer Success and Incident Response team, Aarti brings decades of industry experience, an eye for scalable solutions, and a commitment to empowering both customers and communities. Her impact is felt in boardrooms and breach response centers alike. 

Before joining Microsoft, Aarti’s journey included transformative roles at IBM, where she led product and growth strategy across more than a dozen acquisitions—including multi-billion-dollar deals that reshaped several Data and Application businesses. Her ability to bridge business strategy with technical execution sparked growth across global portfolios and accelerated digital transformation for customers worldwide. 

At Microsoft, Aarti has doubled down on customer impact. Since stepping into her leadership role, she has grown the Global Customer Success Security team from 120 to over 1,000 professionals in just three years—empowering more than 4,500 organizations to secure their digital environments in the past year alone. Under her direction, Microsoft’s Incident Response team has also launched a new proactive motion: hundreds of customers now engage Microsoft to be their primary incident response provider, a move that has changed the dynamics of the industry. 

Aarti’s teams deliver more than services—they deliver business resilience. Her strategy team converts frontline feedback into product enhancements, technical enablement, and community insight, making security both scalable and deeply human. Her personal sponsorship of key strategic accounts across the globe further illustrates her commitment to co-creating value with customers. 

But Aarti’s influence doesn’t stop at strategy decks or security protocols. As executive sponsor for the Microsoft Women in Cybersecurity ERG, as well as sponsor of the Executive Women CISO Community, a group of more than 50 industry women CISOs, she’s mentoring the next generation of cybersecurity talent and nurturing a thriving ecosystem of women leaders in tech.  “Every action contributes to building a cognitively diverse workforce,” she says. “If we don’t share our stories, we miss the chance to inspire others to rise.” 

Her philosophy is simple, but powerful: “If we focus on finding problems, they tend to become larger than life blockers. But if we focus on meaningful outcomes, we tend to find more doors and pathways.” 

That mindset has not only unlocked innovation at enterprise scale—it’s opened new doors for women in tech, across industries and around the world. 

 About #empowHER50 campaign

This campaign celebrates women leaders at Microsoft, past and present, who have been instrumental in democratizing access to technology, opportunity, and growth. By honoring their contributions over the last half-century, this campaign highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity. Through digital spotlights, a commemorative coffee table book, live recognition events, and more, the campaign inspires collective action toward achieving equitable societal goals. To learn more about empowHER50, please visit https://womenincloud.com/empowHER50 

To learn about Microsoft 50th celebrations: https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-50/  

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