The following is a guest blog post by Roberto Pietra, Avanade VP of Human Resources for Europe, Africa, Latin America.

 

Innovation is a hot topic in business circles today. It is fueling the next generation of technology that is transforming how we work and live. Our CEO, Adam Warby, discussed innovation earlier this year in his blog post regarding how innovation is transforming business. As Adam noted, for today’s IT leaders to successfully achieve lofty expectation by senior executives, it will require more than just technical skills. It will require business excellence to align innovation agendas to business priorities.

 

I wrote a piece in the Financial Times last year that young workers are bringing a spirit of collaboration and social engagement that is central to a global organization like Avanade and our ability to bring the best business results to our customers.

 

Providing opportunities for international students as future leaders in innovation is one reason Avanade has been a proud supporter of the Imagine Cup since 2008. As a global leader in Microsoft technology services, we have become the employer of choice for smart people who are passionate about helping organizations use technology to realize results.

 

One area where we are making concerted efforts is in promoting and advancing women in technology. This initiative, led by Pamela Maynard, our UK and Ireland general manager, is dedicated to encouraging and mentoring young women to pursue and succeed at careers in technology. You can read her blog post, “Wanted: Innovative Women in IT” on the Imagine Cup website. Avanade is sponsoring the Women Innovators Dinner at the Imagine Cup in Australia where influential female leaders will discuss their road to success.

 

We look forward to a great event.