Featured
Women in Cloud
How CEOs Can Use OPULIS to Unlock Equitable Growth for Emerging Leaders with Tameka McNair
From an early age, Tameka McNair knew she wanted to be a part of something bigger than herself. By the time she reached age seven, she was already determined to make an indelible imprint on the world, which led her on an incredible journey of learning and empowerment, not only for herself but also for others. Tameka holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering with a focus on Human Factors and an MBA with an emphasis on Leadership. With a career that spans various disciplines, including Education, Energy, Technology, Retail, and Manufacturing, Tameka is currently a leader within the Digital Employee Experience organization, focused on innovative initiatives that enhance the employee experiences, evolve the AI-enabled HR narrative, and nurture stakeholder relationships within HR and other organizations across Microsoft. She is also the Executive Sponsor of the Microsoft Alumni Network and the Co-Vice Chair of the Microsoft Alumni Board, where she drives initiatives fostering meaningful connections and leveraging alumni insights for organizational growth.
In 2025, Tameka is one of the honorees of the OPULIS Book, which celebrates the bold stories of 50 women who helped shape Microsoft’s trillion-dollar transformation across AI, cloud, gaming, and beyond. As a powerful collector ’s-quality coffee table book created by Women in Cloud, OPULIS is archived in the Microsoft Archives and endorsed by Microsoft.
Today, we had the opportunity to speak with Tameka and learn more about her personal and professional journey, as well as her impactful work at and beyond Microsoft. We hope you enjoy today’s interview!
Women in Technology: Thank you for speaking with us, Tameka! Can you share your background with our readers? What was your major in college, and what sparked your interest in working in technology?
Tameka McNair: I majored in Industrial Engineering with a focus in Human Factors and a minor in African American Studies. I later went back to school and completed my MBA I did an emphasis in Leadership. But my education was multiplied from navigating uncertainty and building community.
When I first began my career journey, I wasn’t tied to any one industry; I was driven by a desire to solve meaningful problems and create value through innovation. My path into technology wasn’t pre-planned; it revealed itself as I explored where I could make the greatest impact. Over time, I realized that tech offered the perfect canvas for my engineering mindset: building solutions that empower people and transform systems.
Over time, I realized that tech offered the perfect canvas for my engineering mindset: building solutions that empower people and transform systems.
WiT: You’ve been part of Microsoft for almost seven years, considering both tenures. What does being part of Microsoft’s 50-year legacy mean to you personally and professionally?
Tameka: Being in-person for the events surrounding Microsoft’s 50th anniversary this year was nothing short of extraordinary, a once-in-a-lifetime experience that left a lasting imprint. To witness and stand alongside individuals who dared to be bold, even when the path forward was unclear, was a powerful reminder that possibility is limitless. It reaffirmed that when courage meets vision, even the absence of a blueprint can lead to a groundbreaking impact.
One of my favorite mantras is “I don’t want just to leave a legacy, I want to live one,” being part of Microsoft’s 50-year legacy allows me to do so.
I don’t want just to leave a legacy, I want to live one.
Personally, it’s a reminder that impact isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s in the quiet moments: mentoring a colleague, advocating for an overlooked idea, or championing someone who’s never been championed before. Professionally, it’s a call to action. Microsoft’s legacy is built on transformation, and I see my role as helping ensure that transformation includes the underdogs, the hidden gems who just need someone to see them.
Being part of five different organizations within Microsoft, I’ve been fortunate to experience a wide spectrum of growth, learning, and innovation. But what has truly defined the value of this journey isn’t just the roles or the projects, it’s the people. The relationships, the mentorship, the quiet champions and bold collaborators, they’ve been the heartbeat of every milestone.
WiT: What are some of the projects you have participated in while at Microsoft?
Tameka: I’ve led initiatives focused on operational excellence, process improvement, change management, AI identification & adoption, product creation, inclusive hiring, and leadership development, to name a few. But the projects I’m proudest of are the ones that didn’t have a spotlight. The ones where I helped build systems that made someone’s day easier, encouraged someone to see the greatness from within, or created space for emerging leaders to step into their power. Whether it was streamlining workflows or launching internal programs to elevate diverse talent, I’ve always been drawn to work that quietly changes lives, staying true to my purpose statement.
WiT: What are the lessons you learned in creating that product or program, or project? Who was or were your biggest allies in that journey?
Tameka: Two of the most transformative lessons I’ve learned are that clarity is a form of kindness, and value only resonates when it’s felt, not just delivered. In moments of uncertainty, I’ve found that being deliberate about purpose, structure, and communication (while keeping the end user at the center) is what transforms good ideas into meaningful impact. I’ve been incredibly blessed to have a circle of influence filled with leaders who didn’t just support my work; they invested in my growth. They saw beyond the work that I did or my title, choosing instead to nurture the person behind the potential.
They are the quiet champions, the mentors who ask the questions that stretch me, and the colleagues who believed in my vision and my out-of-the-box ideas long before they were fully formed. They believe in my audacious North Star: becoming a Fortune 50 CEO who leads with equity, empathy, and impact. Their willingness to leverage their own resources, wisdom, and platforms to help me rise is a powerful reminder that true leadership isn’t about volume; it’s about amplification. It’s about lifting the voices that deserve to be heard, and I believe this is what OPULIS does.
My Allies from Microsoft: Rich Kaplan, Steve Dispensa, Billy Anders, Liz Wan, Amy Coleman, Kristen Roby Dimlow, Chad DeVries, Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, Christopher Fernandez, Harish Jayanti, Bridgette Links, Theresa McHenry, Jochen Liesche, Michelle Holtmann, and Robert Patterson.
WiT: I love that you mention all the people who have helped you along the journey! Thank you. Speaking of lifting the voices that deserve to be heard and the OPULIS book, what does being part of OPULIS mean to you?
Tameka: It’s an honor and a responsibility. OPULIS isn’t just a book; it’s a movement. It’s a declaration that leadership must evolve, and that equity isn’t optional. Being part of OPULIS means standing in solidarity with others who believe in intentional growth, in discovering brilliance where others overlook it, and in building systems that don’t just include people, they empower them.
WiT: How CEOs can use OPULIS to unlock equitable growth for emerging leaders?
Tameka: Start by listening differently. OPULIS offers a blueprint for seeing beyond the obvious: beyond resumes, beyond performance reviews, beyond traditional metrics. CEOs can use it to build cultures that reward curiosity, resilience, and authenticity. By intentionally investing in emerging leaders, especially those who’ve been underestimated, they unlock not just growth, but transformation. Equity isn’t a checkbox; it’s a strategy. And OPULIS shows how to make it actionable.
WiT: What would be a piece of advice you would give to your 30-year-old self?
Tameka: Don’t wait for someone to validate your leadership. Lead from where you are. You already carry everything you need: clarity to see the path, conviction to walk it, and community to sustain you. Trust your instincts, even when they go against the grain. And never stop searching for the hidden gems: the underdogs, the quiet contributors, the ones who shine when someone finally sees them. I was one of them.
Don’t wait for someone to validate your leadership. Lead from where you are. You already carry everything you need: clarity to see the path, conviction to walk it, and community to sustain you.
Five years ago, I made a personal declaration: I would measure my success by how many people I helped succeed. That shift changed everything. The more I focused on lifting others, the more my own wins multiplied; so much so, I stopped trying to count them. That’s the beauty of purpose-driven leadership: when you invest in others, you unlock a legacy far greater than your own.
Five years ago, I made a personal declaration: I would measure my success by how many people I helped succeed.
WiT: To wrap up our conversation, can you share what’s next for Tameka? What’s on your horizon?
Tameka: That’s a great question! What I did not mention at the beginning is that, in Engineering school, I had my twin boys, and so I’ve navigated the last 18, almost 19 years, as a single parent to twin boys. Now, I am proud to say, they both just went off to college. I plan on taking a moment just to pause, celebrate, and really think about the magnitude of my story. They are both receiving academic scholarships, and that’s really important when I think about my journey. I still remember finding out that I was pregnant with my twin boys during my sophomore year in engineering school, and the amount of uncertainty that came along with it. To get to this point where I’ve been able to navigate my career, to support my sons along their journey, and to get them off to start the next chapter of their lives is something that I want to make sure that I pause and really celebrate.
This goes back to my purpose statement that I shared with you about empowering others: I believe that by navigating to this point, I now have an opportunity to inspire people in a different type of way and to show them that you’re still capable of doing all of the things that you set out to do. Does it require a level of sacrifice? Yes. But is it worth every second? Absolutely. That’s one of the reasons I wrote my book, Conquering Uncertainty, talking about my journey up to that point. So, as far as what’s next, I’ll probably do a part two of Conquering Uncertainty.
WiT: Your story is very inspiring, Tameka. I’m sure your sons are very proud of their mother as much as you are proud of them.
Tameka: Thank you! At some point, I hope to write a parenting book as well.
WiT: We can’t wait to read your upcoming books, Tameka! Thank you for sharing your journey with us!
About the OPULIS Book: OPULIS merges “opus” (masterpiece) with “polis” (community) to celebrate the bold stories of 50 women who helped shape Microsoft’ s trillion- dollar transformation across AI, cloud, gaming, and beyond. Archived in the Microsoft Archives and endorsed by Microsoft and Microsoft Alumni Network, OPULIS is a powerful collector-quality coffee table book created by Women in Cloud. Every OPULIS book purchase fuels real-world change. Through our unique Books to Scholarships model, every 10 copies of OPULIS purchased funds 1 full scholarship, delivering next-generation AI skills to underrepresented talent worldwide with a goal of igniting 1,000 AI careers by 2030.
About Women in Cloud: A community-led economic development organization dedicated to taking collective action to generate $1B in new net economic access for women entrepreneurs and professionals by 2030 through global partnerships with corporations, community leaders, and policymakers. All of these are united by the ESG and UN Sustainable Development Goals that are driven by job creation, diversity and inclusion, technology innovation, and sustainability, giving women a powerful platform to accelerate as industry leaders.
