In this episode, guest Andrew Macadam, Global Field Director, Microsoft for Startups, joins host Simon Hodgkins to discuss his role in working with teams across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. Andrew held the position of Managing Director for Microsoft Startups in Western Europe, covering 17 countries.

Before his current role, Andrew headed up the online sales and marketing for Vodafone. He holds an International MBA and a Bachelor's Degree in Civil and Structural Engineering.

Topics include Andrew’s work to enable start-ups to engage with some of the most innovative companies on the planet. We discuss several of the biggest challenges while doing this. Simon and Andrew explore the approach to scaling through partners (from VC to GSI and Accelerators/Incubators) to augment the Microsoft program and a focus on inclusion by giving a voice to underrepresented founders.

As Western Europe Managing Director for Startups, Andrew had to build and execute a complete startup engagement strategy for the region in close partnership with Microsoft regional subsidiaries. We share how Andrew approached this challenge and how many startups no longer only consider their local market but have a growing opportunity to think globally from day one, enabling them to do business in many different countries worldwide.

The episode includes a discussion on how Andrew sees the global aspects of his role developing further in technology, communications, and the advance of technologies such as Microsoft Teams, the Metaverse, and the rapidly changing technology landscape.