Microsoft Veteran Satish Thomas Embraces New Chapter at Google Amid AI Revolution
Satish Thomas, a distinguished 20-year veteran of Microsoft, has announced his departure from the Redmond tech giant to embark on an exciting new journey with Google. Thomas, who began his Microsoft career as an intern and rose to become a corporate vice president, expressed that he’s joining Google “during what feels like one of the most consequential moments in tech history — right in the heart of the AI era.” In his LinkedIn announcement, Thomas reflected warmly on his two decades at Microsoft, acknowledging that the company “shaped me in ways I never imagined.” During his tenure, he led strategy, product management, and engineering execution for Microsoft Cloud for Industry, following leadership roles in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft AppSource. While the specific position at Google remains undisclosed, Thomas admitted that “leaving isn’t easy — but some opportunities are so special and unique that you just have to go for them,” highlighting the significant pull of innovation happening in the artificial intelligence landscape.
The tech leadership carousel continues as Raji Rajagopalan takes on a new role at Microsoft as GitHub’s vice president of engineering after more than 20 years with the company. Rajagopalan, who started as a software engineer at Microsoft, is transitioning from the Microsoft Foundry Team with clear ambitions for her new position: “My goal is to help GitHub continue to be the place loved by devs, where innovation happens and human-agent workflows thrive, as we move into this new era of AI-driven development.” Meanwhile, Katie Bardaro has joined Seattle startup Avante as senior VP of customer experience, where she’ll work with software designed to decrease HR administration workloads and reduce benefits program costs. Bardaro, who previously served as chief customer officer at Syndio and spent over a decade at Payscale, was attracted to Avante by “the opportunity to work at the intersection of data, AI, and total rewards, all while helping companies and employees navigate one of the most complex (and impactful) parts of the employee experience: benefits.”
A mysterious new AI venture is forming under the leadership of Vivek Sharma, who’s leaving Stripe to explore “AI’s potential to fundamentally change how people work.” While details remain sparse, Sharma has assembled an impressive team of collaborators with strong ties to leading tech companies. The founding team includes Tore Hanssen, a founding engineer at Statsig (recently acquired by OpenAI) with previous experience at Meta; Robert Masson, a senior staff data scientist who spent nearly 11 years at Meta before moving to Atlassian; and Calvin Grunewald, who served as a Facebook director of engineering for nine years before joining Stripe. Sharma’s cryptic LinkedIn announcement promised “more details coming soon” while inviting interested early adopters to reach out, suggesting an ambitious approach to workplace transformation through artificial intelligence technologies.
Leadership changes continue across the tech landscape as Jeff Carr steps into the CEO role at Atana, a Bellevue-based startup focusing on workplace training content incorporating behavior-based learning and development. Carr, who joined as president in August, succeeds co-founder John Hansen, who will remain as executive chair. Hansen praised Carr’s immediate alignment with Atana’s vision and his swift impact in creating “new opportunities and new strategic relationships.” Carr brings valuable experience from previous CEO positions at workforce training company Inkling and HR company PeopleFluent. Founded in 1993, Atana was acquired by Hansen in 2016, who then guided the expansion of its learning content offerings. In contrast to these career advancements, longtime Microsoft gaming leader Larry Hyrb (known by his handle “Major Nelson”) shared that he was laid off from Unity after 18 months with the company, following his departure from Microsoft in 2023 after more than two decades in corporate communications.
The technology ecosystem continues to evolve with serial entrepreneur Jay Bartot taking on the role of technical advisor and chief technologist for TheFounderVC, a Seattle-based venture capital firm launched in 2024. Bartot, who also serves as co-founder and CTO of software startup AirSignal, an affiliate professor at the University of Washington, and a startup mentor at Creative Destruction Lab, expressed excitement about “helping exceptional early-stage founders build the next generation of great Vertical AI companies and products.” Supply chain innovation also sees new leadership with Tucker Reimer joining Auger as principal of supply chain innovation. The Bellevue-based logistics and supply chain software startup, launched in 2024 by former Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO Dave Clark with $100 million in Series A funding, brings Reimer’s expertise from his previous role as vice president of global planning and analytics at the Johnsonville sausage company. Rounding out the leadership movements, Lucas Dickey has joined Stripe to work on Stripe Atlas, a tool helping entrepreneurs incorporate their businesses. Having personally used Atlas four times for his own ventures, Dickey aligns with Stripe’s mission of “making the administrative layer a breeze — and helping new companies start strong from day one.”
These leadership transitions across Microsoft, Google, and various startups highlight the dynamic nature of the technology industry, particularly as artificial intelligence continues to reshape the landscape. From veteran executives like Satish Thomas embracing new challenges after decades of loyalty to one company, to emerging leaders joining forces in stealth startups focused on AI innovation, the industry remains characterized by constant evolution and the pursuit of transformative opportunities. As these leaders navigate new roles and responsibilities, their collective expertise and vision will undoubtedly influence how technology companies address complex challenges and capitalize on emerging possibilities in the AI era, ultimately shaping how businesses operate and how people work in increasingly digital environments.
