Tech·Ed Europe Keynote
Stephen Elop
President Microsoft Business Division
As president of the Microsoft Business Division, Stephen Elop oversees the Information Worker, Microsoft Business Solutions and Unified Communications Groups. This division is responsible for the Microsoft Office system of programs, servers and software-based services, Microsoft Dynamics, business applications for small and midsize businesses, large organizations and divisions of global enterprises and Microsoft's Unified Communications, products that provide complete software-based communications tools to business.
Elop joined Microsoft in January, 2008 and is a member of the company's senior leadership team that sets overall strategy and direction for Microsoft.
Before joining Microsoft, Elop was Chief Operating Officer for Juniper Networks, a leading provider of high-performance network infrastructure and a valued Microsoft partner. As COO, Elop was responsible for all the company's product groups, corporate development, global sales and service and marketing and manufacturing organizations.
Prior to Juniper, Elop served as president of worldwide field operations at Adobe Systems Inc., where he was responsible for Adobe's global sales organization and all customer-facing functions. Elop joined Adobe following the 2005 acquisition of Macromedia Inc., where he was president and CEO. During his seven-year tenure at Macromedia, Elop held many senior positions, including COO, executive vice president of worldwide field operations and general manager of the company's eBusiness division. Earlier in his career, he served in a number of executive positions, including chief information officer.
Elop earned a bachelor's degree in computer engineering and management from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Robert Wahbe
Corporate Vice President, Server and Tools Marketing
Robert Wahbe is corporate vice president of the Server and Tools Marketing Group at Microsoft. He manages a software portfolio that helps IT professionals and developers deliver a dynamic computing platform to run their businesses, including Microsoft Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio, System Center, and Forefront. Wahbe is responsible for worldwide product and business management including product planning, pricing, packaging, branding and advertising, as well as developing sales integration and working with the partner ecosystem.
Since joining Microsoft in 1996, Wahbe has served in a number of product development roles. In 2000 he co-founded the team chartered to deliver Web services and the Windows Communication Foundation which now provides the foundation for Web services for both Windows Server and Microsoft's Azure Services Platform.
Most recently, Wahbe led the Connected Systems Division (CSD) which delivered the industry-leading platform & tools for distributed applications. Wahbe's product responsibilities in CSD included Windows Application Server, BizTalk Server, .NET Framework technologies including Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation, .NET Services as part of the Azure Services Platform and Microsoft's new modeling platform.
Before joining Microsoft, Wahbe was co-founder of Colusa Software Inc., a privately held software company acquired by Microsoft in 1996. Wahbe is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
Achim Berg
Chairman of the Managing Board Microsoft Germany and Area Vice President International
Achim Berg was appointed General Manager of Microsoft Germany and Area Vice President Microsoft International effective February 1, 2007. In his capacity as Chairman of the Managing Board assumes responsibility for the operations of Microsoft Corporation in its fourth-largest market. Achim Berg reports to Jean-Philippe Courtois, President of Microsoft International. Achim Berg is Vice President of the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM); member of the board of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences; and Deputy Chairman of the board of “Deutschland sicher im Netz”, a German association promoting IT and Internet security.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Achim Berg served as a member on the Board of Directors of T-Com, Europe’s largest telecommunications company, where he was responsible for marketing and sales of the fixed network business since 2002. From 1999 to 2001, Achim Berg held the position of Managing Director of Fujitsu Siemens Computers GmbH and managed the consolidation of the computer businesses of the two largest producers in Germany. Between 1995 and 1999, he performed executive sales roles for the computer manufacturer Dell Deutschland GmbH; most recently as Director for Midmarket Customers. Achim Berg made his first career steps from 1989 to 1994, when he worked in various sales positions for Bull AG in Cologne.
In Cologne, Achim Berg completed his studies as a graduated computer scientist at the technical college in 1989. He attended the European Potential Management Program at the European Economic School EAP, Paris, London, Madrid, Rom, Berlin.
Achim Berg is married and has a son. He likes to spend his free time with his family and do sports.
General Developer Session
Jason Zander
General Manager Visual Studio Team, Developer Division, Microsoft Corporation
Jason Zander is the General Manager of the Visual Studio team in the Developer Division at Microsoft Corporation. As GM, Jason’s team responsibilities include the core VS IDE platform, C++, C#, VB, Javascript, the DLR (with IronRuby and IronPython), Mobile (Visual Studio for Devices and the .NET Compact Framework), Phoenix, Office Tools (VSTO/VSTA), Popfly, and several groups doing some advanced work we aren't yet talking about <g>.
As one of the original developers of the CLR, Jason’s primary technical area of contributions include file formats, metadata, compilers, debugging/profiling, and integration of the system into key Microsoft products such as Windows and SQL Server. Before becoming GM of Visual Studio Jason was the GM for the .NET Framework team. Jason also held several roles on the CLR team including Product Unit Manager and Development Manager. Prior to working on the CLR, Jason worked on the Repository and SourceSafe products and before that on the first two versions of ODBC. Before joining Microsoft in 1992, Jason worked at IBM on Distributed SQL and SQL/400 at the Rochester lab. Jason holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from MSU. In his spare time, Jason enjoys playing with his three children and making furniture in his shop. Jason's blog can be found at http://blogs.msdn.com/jasonz.
Dr. Said Zahedani
Senior Director Developer Platform and Strategy Group
Dr. Ing. Said Zahedani (48) has been the Senior Director of the Developer Platform & Strategy Group since 2003. He is a member of the Microsoft Deutschland GmbH management board and reports directly to the chairman of the management board of Microsoft Deutschland and Vice President International, Achim Berg.
His business group focuses on software platforms, development and software innovations. As such he is mainly responsible for the concerns of software developers in Germany and maintains contacts to the German software industry, universities, research establishments (e.g. Microsoft EMIC) and Microsoft Research.
In this function he is also responsible for Microsoft Germany’s community commitment initiatives. These include projects that strengthen Germany as a location as well as the support for company formations in the high-tech industry with the company start-up initiative “unternimm was”.
Subsequent to graduating from the Technical University in Darmstadt he worked for various companies, including Debis and IBM before joining Microsoft. At IBM he was responsible for supporting the design and implementation of complex client projects for Technical Support in the “eBusiness” sector.
Said Zahedani is married with two children. He devotes his private time to his family and to sport, especially jogging.