Toni Townes-Whitley

Industry Leadership of the Year

At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Microsoft served the state of New York and its “Tech Squad” to help build a mobile COVID-19 self-assessment and testing tool in less than three days. This was just one of many ways Microsoft President of U.S. Regulated Industries Toni Townes-Whitley’s team helped its public sector partners during the thick of the pandemic. “Governments across the world have undergone years’ worth of digital transformation in a matter of months and are seeing the value of being more agile,” she said. “COVID-19 has fast-tracked this modern cloud technology adoption at speeds that are unprecedented in the history of our nation. The pandemic put a stress test on the ability of governments to deliver services amidst a crisis and we are seeing our government customers embrace a mindset that fosters innovation at an accelerated rate.” That innovation, Townes-Whitley said, will likely “outlast the pandemic as governments shift their mindsets and operations to be more agile, anticipating the needs of citizens and government workers.”