Harbus

Issue date: 10/20/03 Section: News

Last week, Jeff Raikes, group vice president of Productivity and Business Services (PBS) at Microsoft, landed on campus to meet with students and members of the HTNM club. A Nebraska native, Raikes joined Microsoft in 1981 as a product manager in its applications group. What followed was a meteoric rise from product manager, to chief strategist, to vice president of Office Systems. Today, Raikes is a member of both the Senior Leadership and Business Leadership teams, where he is jointly responsible for developing Microsoft's core direction and strategic plan.

Clearly enjoying the student environment, Raikes shared his thoughts on the latest in information-collaboration technology, recent strategic developments at Microsoft, and the continued evolution of Linux in the marketplace. Raikes' passion for technology and Microsoft was obvious - in his meeting with the Harbus he gave me the opportunity to hold his Tablet PC, a product he headed and launched last year, and proudly announced that all of his notes for the last year and a half were stored in his Tablet PC. While many of Raikes' competitors would likely pay very good money for that particular Tablet PC, Raikes is clearly very focused on remaining a step ahead of the competition and securing Microsoft's position at the fore-front of information technology. Time will tell how successful Microsoft will be in the future, but if the past is any indication, you can count on Microsoft to not only show up for the party, but that Raikes will be sure to enjoy the ball.

Harbus: What are your primary responsibilities and areas of focus at Microsoft?

Raikes: My role is two-fold. First, I am a member of our senior leadership team, the core of which includes four people. Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates, Jim Allchin and myself - and we also include as a part of that team our two chief technology officers and Kevin Johnson, who oversees our worldwide sales. This group's mission is to take the overall perspective on Microsoft as well as to share in some of the cross-group issues that have to get resolved. That probably represents 20% of my time.

Secondly, the majority of my time - my day job so-to-speak - is productivity in business services. That includes overseeing a bunch of Microsoft's business units, including our Information Worker Business, which centers on Microsoft Office. I also work with Doug Burgum who oversees Microsoft Business Solutions. I would say I spend more of my time on the world of Office.

Continued...

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