Enterprise SaaS
10 Microsoft marketing leaders
These ten current and former Microsoft marketing leaders have held vice president and higher marketing roles at Microsoft, including Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Brand Officer. A reader can learn how Microsoft runs product marketing, brand and advertising, and cloud, AI and industry marketing.
Professionals to explore
01—10Alysa Taylor
LinkedInExperience: Chief Marketing Officer, Commercial Cloud & AI · Microsoft
Chief Marketing Officer, Commercial Cloud & AI at Microsoft since August 2024; the profile says Alysa Taylor leads the teams responsible for shaping product narratives from inception and driving adoption. Alysa Taylor was Corporate Vice President Cloud & AI Commercial Marketing (2022–2024) and Corporate Vice President Industry, Apps, and Data Marketing (2021–2022) at Microsoft.
Ciaran McCarthy
LinkedInExperience: VP Brand & Advertising · Microsoft
VP Brand & Advertising at Microsoft since March 2025; the profile says Ciaran McCarthy leads global brand and advertising at Microsoft, shaping how its products show up. Ciaran McCarthy was VP, Executive Creative Director, Electronic Arts (2024–2025) and Sr Director, Head of Creative, EA SPORTS & Entertainment (2019–2024) at Electronic Arts (EA), and Global Executive Creative Director at R/GA (2018–2019).
Cyril Belikoff
LinkedInExperience: Vice President Commercial Cloud & AI Marketing · Microsoft
Vice President Commercial Cloud & AI Marketing at Microsoft since 2022; the profile says Cyril Belikoff leads a team responsible for a multi-billion dollar Azure business, creating solutions with partners that help customers transform their businesses. Cyril Belikoff was GM & COO Modern Work, Surface & Security (2018–2022) and Senior Director Surface Marketing (2013–2016) at Microsoft.
James Howell
LinkedInExperience: VP Windows Marketing · Microsoft
VP Windows Marketing at Microsoft since June 2025, alongside a General Manager, Windows role listed since 2022. James Howell was Senior Director Product Marketing (2019–2022) and Director Product Marketing (2014–2019) at Microsoft; the profile describes skills in product marketing, product management and product planning in the consumer devices business, including partnering with OEMs to build products.
Kathleen Hall
LinkedInExperience: Chief Brand Officer, Corporate Vice President-Brand, Advertising & Research · Microsoft
Chief Brand Officer, Corporate Vice President-Brand, Advertising & Research at Microsoft since 2016. The profile says Kathleen Hall is responsible for stewardship and activation of the Microsoft Brand, creating advertising and messaging to consumers globally, and delivering fact-based customer insights. Kathleen Hall was Corporate Vice President, Global Advertising & Media at Microsoft (2015–2016) and SVP, Advertising and Brand at Fidelity Investments (1997–2007).
Kees Hertogh
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, Global Industry Marketing at Microsoft · Microsoft
Vice President, Global Industry Marketing at Microsoft since May 2026, following Vice President, Public Sector & Healthcare Marketing (2025–2026) and Vice President - Global Health and Life Science Marketing (2023–2025) at Microsoft. Kees Hertogh was General Manager - Global Industry Product Marketing at Microsoft from 2021 to 2023.
Kelly Soligon
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, Frontier and Marketing Transformation · Microsoft
Vice President, Frontier and Marketing Transformation at Microsoft since May 2026; the profile says Kelly Soligon leads Microsoft's Frontier & Marketing Transformation organization, focused on placing frontier transformation at the center of its commercial marketing strategy and customer engagement approach. Kelly Soligon was Vice President, Marketing - Microsoft Consumer Sales Organization (2022–2024) and General Manager, Microsoft Store Marketing and Experiences (2017–2022).
Matt Barlow
LinkedInExperience: Corporate Vice President of Marketing CMO, Windows, Windows Devices and Microsoft Surface · Microsoft
Former Corporate Vice President of Marketing CMO, Windows, Windows Devices and Microsoft Surface at Microsoft (2022–2026), following Corporate Vice President of Marketing CMO - Microsoft Surface (2019–2022) and Corporate Vice President of Marketing CMO, Windows and New Devices (2013–2019). Matt Barlow was Vice President of Marketing, Xbox, Xbox Live and Microsoft Games Studios at Microsoft (2007–2013) and lists Founder at The Launch Factory since 2026.
Stefan Kinnestrand
LinkedInExperience: Vice President Product Marketing · Microsoft
Vice President Product Marketing at Microsoft since June 2023. The profile describes experience driving product management, product marketing, business strategy and business models, including monetization strategy, packaging, pricing, promotion, discounting and licensing, as well as business development.
Takeshi Numoto
LinkedInExperience: Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer · Microsoft
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft since 2023; the profile says Takeshi Numoto leads the company's global marketing efforts, including product marketing, advertising, market research, events and communications across Microsoft's product and service portfolio. Takeshi Numoto was Executive Vice President and Commercial Chief Marketing Officer (2020–2023) and Corporate Vice President, Cloud Marketing (2012–2020) at Microsoft.
Choose the right perspective
Pick the person whose remit matches your question: company-wide and brand leaders suit questions about positioning and advertising, while leaders of a product or industry marketing group suit questions about launches and go-to-market for one line of business. Check each person's dates before asking about recent practice, since one has left Microsoft.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How do you divide responsibility between company brand marketing and the marketing teams of individual product lines?
- 02How do you decide which launches get major campaign investment, and how do you measure whether that spend worked?
- 03Which marketing practices from a company of Microsoft's scale would you keep, and which would you drop, at a much smaller software company?
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
Request a correction or removal