November, A Time Capsule of Gratitude

Now that I’ve shared my recent professional update, I want to take a moment to reflect back and share my gratitude to my ex-colleagues at 微软 , to my network and to offer inspiration, encouragement and support to those who may need it. ?

As some of you know, in 2022 I thought a lot of stars were aligning in my life. ?

Three big dreams I had for quite some time had all seemingly aligned, all while navigating some very personal challenges.

• I had dreamed about returning to live and work in Europe, be in the Alps and more specifically to live and work in the French speaking area of Switzerland, namely the Canton of Vaud and greater Lausanne area
• I had been wanting to return to and work for a BigTech company for the sheer ability to leverage the massive scale such an organization can partake in accelerating the transformation that AI and technology can catapult across the entire healthcare ecosystem nevermind enabling the AI models I had dreamed of building way back in school
• ?I had wanted to become more fluent in French, ideally getting to B1 level.

Well, while my time at Microsoft ended much shorter than I had hoped for (due to global layoffs) I look back and am beyond grateful for the time I did spend there and am proud I accomplished my dreams (even if, short-lived).

Microsoft, and particularly the period in which I was there (i.e. during the launch of OpenAI/ChatGPT/CoPilot) was one of the most positive and engaging cultures I’ve yet had the pleasure to experience. Much of this is due to my direct leadership and team – (you know who you are – thank you)!

But, it was also truly a work of art to observe Satya and many of the leaders across the organization lead with such empathetic change in a consistent manner across an engaged, flexible and virtual environment. ?I truly believe Satya brings a soul to the company that reverberates from within. As his name implies, Satya in sanskrit (and as the second of the five yamas that are part of the eight-limbed path to enlightenment in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras) refers to being truthful in one’s thoughts, speech and action.

While I never had the opportunity to meet Satya in person I felt this value across all levels of the organization as I had never felt before.

It’s been a transition moving in-out-in of the country as the world experienced continual economic re-balancing to the pandemics burst of growth - first across the tech sector and then shortly after in the healthcare sector, but I write this to share a few take-aways:

-????????? Don’t let your dreams be dreams. (cue Jack Johnson) Believe in them and put actions in place. They will happen - with persistence- and often when least expected.

-????????? Recognize the positive. While I could be bitter, I choose to be better. I learned so much in such a short amount of time and I am still amazed by the support I have gotten from ex-colleagues along with many of you in my network. Heartfelt, thank you to you all.

-????????? While AI is great, spread the human touch and give back. If you’re going through a rough patch, looking for your next best fit or need a pick-me-up, message me. I’m notorious for withdrawing (read, running into the mountains), but slowly learning how to ask for help and above all want to offer support to my network who has taught me and supported me along the bumps of life.

So, as we enter November, recognize and embrace the infinite beauty of change and thank you, all. ?I only hope I can bring pieces of these lessons with me to my new role and new team of which I am equally excited about.

(En ce qui concerne mon fran?ais, bien que je sois encore timide en parlant, j’ai réussi l’examen B1 et les tests en ligne disent que je comprends au niveau B2. Beaucoup de travail jusqu’à présent, beaucoup à faire, mais du contenu.)