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Kurt DelBene Racing

Kurt DelBene races his 1964 BRP-BRM Grand Prix race car at the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association national championship in October 2014 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Michael DiPleco/Sports Car Digest)

Microsoft's Chief Digital Officer Puts UA Engineering Speaker Series In Pole Position

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Microsoft's Chief Digital Officer Puts UA Engineering Speaker Series In Pole Position

Jan. 24, 2018
In a Q&A for students, longtime Microsoft executive Kurt DelBene will draw from his experiences transforming products like Microsoft Office and troubleshooting the healthcare.gov website.

The UA College of Engineering is bringing global leaders from business, industry and public service to campus for a lecture series designed to instruct and inspire students on leading organizations and implementing lasting change.

The spring series -- “Lessons in Engineering Leadership” -- kicks off with a talk titled “Your Seat in the C-Suite” from Kurt DelBene. In a Q&A format, DelBene, Microsoft’s chief digital officer and executive vice president for Corporate Strategy, Core Services Engineering and Operations, will speak on Monday, Jan. 29, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Student Union Memorial Center Kiva Room.

Kurt DelBene
Kurt DelBene

The presentation is free and open to the public, but registration is required. University of Arizona students can submit questions for DelBene when they sign up.

“This is an exceptional professional development opportunity for our students,” said Jeff Goldberg, dean of the College of Engineering. “The talk is geared to answering their questions.”

Among other accomplishments, DelBene kept the Microsoft Office software suite a top-seller by transforming it into a cloud-based service, and, at the request of former President Barack Obama, led a team to repair the then fledgling healthcare.gov website.

DelBene earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Arizona and master’s degrees in operations management and business from Stanford and the University of Chicago. He received the UA College of Engineering’s Alumnus of the Year award in 2015.

Like many of the world’s most successful people, DelBene also excels in personal avocations. He competes in vintage car races driving a restored 1964 Formula One racecar from the film “Grand Prix.”

UA students are in for a fast-paced, fascinating and interactive presentation. Refreshments will be served, and seating is limited. Register here.