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Today's episode is a Simply Tech LIVE interview, capturing a new mini-series the program is doing on Transformations in Industry, Manufacturing. The episode features our guest co-host, Greg Vigil, Industry Director for Manufacturing at Microsoft - who is Microsoft’s in-vertical expert on all things industry related - and our very special guest for the episode, Tracy Galloway, US Vice President of Manufacturing at Microsoft. Tracy has more than 20 years of experience in technology, some of her experiences include, Director level leadership at Unilever North America, as well as more than 15 years at Hewlett Packard, holding experiences ranging from managing the Ford Motor company relationship, all the way to multiple VP level roles including Channel and Attach sales, US technology services, and Strategy, Segments, and Alliances. At Microsoft, Tracy spent time as the regional VP of Microsoft's enterprise commercial team in the great lakes, as well as leading the Microsoft US services team just last year. Tracy brings an immense amount of passion and energy to the discussion.

***Items we discuss in the episode***

[08:10] Microsoft's new Manufacturing industry vertical, and why Microsoft decided to carve out a special organization specifically for manufacturing customers and partners

[09:05] High level solutions and key scenarios that are driving business impact in manufacturing, and the “why now” impetus for the market

[16:10] The importance of strategic partnerships and cohesive collaboration for digital work accelerations in manufacturing

[19:25] Tracy's experiences as a woman VP, and the importance of female leadership in the industry

[23:25] One of Tracy’s most passion fueled focus areas in manufacturing: sustainability. Why it’s important for manufacturers globally, and the leadership that Microsoft is exemplifying in the space.

[26:40] What Greg is seeing when it comes to sustainability across large global organizations

[29:48] Tracy’s thoughts on organizational skilling and education in the quickly evolving and maturing world of cloud and AI,

[32:29] Greg’s thoughts on how Microsoft is differentiating through education based approaches to technology adoption

[33:50] What Tracy thinks business leaders in manufacturing should be thinking about when they want to partner with a large tech organizations like Microsoft

***Resources and Links***

Tracy Galloway: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trgalloway/

Greg Vigil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregjvigil/

Full Interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UUeZOfK04ho

Microsoft Manufacturing: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/industry/manufacturing

Microsoft Azure: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/