Cindy Bates

Cindy Bates is a seasoned business executive with an impressive career at Microsoft and prior experience in investment banking. Here are the key details about her professional background:

Professional Career at Microsoft

Leadership Roles:

• Vice President U.S. SMB and Distribution at Microsoft (July 2011 - September 2017)
• VP US Partner Strategy, Marketing and Programs (July 2009 - July 2011)
• General Manager, Small Business Marketing (July 2005 - June 2009)

Key Achievements:

• Established Microsoft's U.S. Small, Midsized Business & Distribution (SMB&D) group
• Managed 130 employees directly, 100 vendors, and over 20,000 partners
• Transformed Cloud in SMB into a growth engine for Microsoft
• Led 20,000 partners to transition to selling Microsoft's Cloud
• Developed innovative partner engagement programs like Microsoft Community Connections
• Increased web traffic by 400% to over 1M unique users per month in Small Business Marketing

Prior Experience

• VP Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch (September 1993 - February 2000)
• Consultant at Strategic Planning Associates (1988 - 1991)

Education

• BS in Molecular Biology and International Economics from University of Michigan (1983 - 1987)
• MBA from Harvard Business School (1991 - 1993)

Cindy Bates is known for her strategic leadership, ability to manage large budgets, and transformative approach to business development.1