As Managing Director, Steven Worrall is responsible for Microsoft’s overall business in Australia. He ensures the company meets the needs of its customers and the more than 11,000 partners and independent software vendors that sell or build on the Microsoft platform.
Steven joined Microsoft in March 2014 as Director, Enterprise and Partner Group, responsible for driving business growth and building strong customer and partner relationships in the Australian Commercial and Public Sector markets. In this role, Steven worked with organisations to drive innovation and business improvement through the application of technology in many areas, including productivity solutions, mobility and cloud services.
Previously Steven worked for IBM for 22 years and held a number of marketing, sales and general management roles in the services, software and financing segments of the organisation. Most recently, he led IBM’s software business in Asia Pacific region where he built organisational capability in diverse markets across the region and drove the business towards more cloud delivered services.
Steven holds an Honours degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and lives in Sydney with his wife and three children.
Steven Worrall works in an industry that is continually shaping and evolving, and in a role that is continuously demanding and changing.
He’s always seen himself as a generalist - equipping himself with new skills by broadening his exposure and diversifying his experience. His tenures at IBM and Microsoft primarily across Sales, Marketing and Management have been a breeding ground for him to grasp the intricacies of the industry and therefore the challenges he faces in meeting client needs.
Steven details his vast, but deliberate, experience and how it has helped him understand Microsoft’s value proposition and how to execute that in the markets they serve.
For all the professional accomplishments, achievements and accolades that Steven has received – his personal vision and values resonate very clearly throughout the episode.
Steven talks about why he does what he does, which defines the what and the how in terms of his work and his legacy. He details how it allows him to both engage with the environment in which he works in, as well as connect with the customer that he ultimately serves.
His personal philosophy is simple yet powerful: love, loyalty and others. In the episode, he discusses how these three words envelop what he works for and how he strives to achieve it. Encompassing this, Steven holds the view that those individuals who are most impactful and successful in their fields ultimately are those who have what they say, what they do and what they think aligned within.
Even from an early stage in his career, Steven had a clear definition on what he wanted to be and where he wanted to go. In that sense, the learnings, experiences and resources he need on that path became clear.
He feels understanding your wider ambition and values is key, in order to align your goals with that of the environment you operate in and the opportunities you take advantage of. He talks about his key pillars of advice in terms of some of the lessons he learnt in deciding on the journey and following the path he ultimately took.
Steven has a strong belief and focus on wellbeing. He feels that to be our best, both personally and professionally, we need to have our physical, mental and spiritual pillars aligned.
In the episode, he details and means and methods behind each pillar that allow him to be the best version of himself.
A deep thinker and a continual learner, Steven talks through some of his favourite books:
