Greg Wilson

When one thinks of ‘Technology Leaders,’ Microsoft is likely the first company that comes to mind.

A globally recognised brand offering a wide portfolio of products and services across industries, central to Microsoft’s message is its mission of empowering every person and every organisation and on the planet to achieve more. 

“For me, we're so much more than a large technology company,” describes Greg Wilson, Government CTO at Microsoft’s Worldwide Public Sector team. “There's a responsibility on us as a strategic partner to nations, and as a partner to governments. We're thought leaders in terms of cloud technology BUT we also have a responsibility for helping governments understand how things like AI should be governed, or how to help reduce the digital divide, or how to support sustainability commitments and how to work successfully with our big partner ecosystem.”

In his role, Wilson helps government customers in their digital transformation journeys, focused on four areas: public safety and justice, public health and social services, public finance and government operations including critical infrastructure.

“My role is to help governments around the world be empowered using our technologies, to achieve so much more for not just their employees but the nation,” he describes, “and therefore to increase productivity, innovation, agility, security and provide value for money. Key is enabling Governments with our technology to help solve society’s biggest problems using AI and the Cloud.”

With a background in the UK military, Wilson has a strong background in technology and digital technology in the public sector.

“I joined the army straight from school,” he explains. “I had a place at university for engineering, which I deferred for a year and went to Sandhurst, the military academy for officers in the UK. I thought if that didn't work out, I would go to university, but it did and I got a commission into the Royal Signals, the corps that provides communications and IT. However, whilst in the military the training was first rate and I completed my degrees and master's in computing as well as earned charterships in Management, IT and Engineering and also started my PhD whilst serving – continually learning. A growth mindset that is equally true and a foundation in Microsoft of who we are.”

Rising to the rank of Brigadier General, the opportunity to move to the private sector in Microsoft represented a significant opportunity.

“With Microsoft I have had the opportunity to work with some really great and amazing teams, with cutting-edge technologies and still support the public sector with these teams, to help them do some really impressive things and address some of the complex challenges they face.

“The job in Microsoft has been just working with some totally amazing, smart, and caring colleagues. Obviously, Microsoft's great tech and the opportunity to help customers around the world make a clear tangible difference is thrilling. The favourite part to me is when we actually get through all the work and we’ve designed a solution and delivered something, is seeing the completed projects I worked on, or even when I just walk around, seeing what difference Microsoft is making to people's day to day lives. It gives purpose to what we do. Whether that's in health, public finance, public justice, or in public infrastructure, or even my colleagues outside our public sector team in the retail and manufacturing sectors. That is the part that makes me proud that we're helping others and making a difference to people’s lives with our technology.

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