Speaker Bio
Kathleen Mitford leads Global Industry Marketing for Microsoft. Her team is responsible for providing solutions to customers and partners in a wide range of industries to help them solve challenges and unlock opportunities specific to their industry with the Microsoft Cloud. She is an expert on the potential for Artificial Intelligence to help companies reinvent the way they deliver value to customers within the unique context of their industry. Kathleen is responsible for the value proposition, product revenue, and global go to market strategy for industry.
She previously led the Azure Marketing team, where she focused on landing Azure’s Applications and Infrastructure capabilities with customers and partners at scale. In addition to the primary focus on Azure, her team was also responsible for marketing Windows Server, Visual Studio family of developer tools, and Internet of Things (IoT) assets, as well as articulating hybrid and better-together scenarios with Azure across the portfolio.
Before joining Microsoft, Kathleen was the EVP and Chief Strategy Officer for PTC, where she led PTC’s product portfolio, strategy, M&A, alliances, marketing, and academic programs. She also drove PTC’s transition to SaaS subscriptions and its leadership in IoT and AR markets.
Kathleen is passionate about diversity and inclusion in tech—particularly when it comes to women. And she is equally passionate about leveraging AI to empower K-12 students to accelerate their learning, maximize their engagement in the classroom and be prepared for the world of tomorrow. Kathleen holds a bachelor’s degree from Philadelphia University. She’s been recognized with a 2022 silver-tier Female Executive of the Year Stevie Award and a 2019 Mass Technology Leadership Council's Tech Excellence Leadership Award. She also served on the board for the Massachusetts High Tech Council. Kathleen lives in Seattle with her husband and two children. She enjoys art, traveling, and outdoor activities such as running and gardening.