The Microsoft Alumni Network is getting new leadership. The organization, which counts 35,000 Microsoft alums as members, announced that director Marylou Brannan is handing the reins to a new leader, Ali Spain, as the organization grows at a blistering pace.
Brannan served as the Network’s executive director for seven years and for the last three years also served as its COO. She will stay with the organization and continue to head operations under Spain’s leadership.
The network acts as a hub for former Microsoft employees. Members of the network get benefits like discounted access to Microsoft products and access to career and networking opportunities.
In 2014, the network merged with the philanthropy-focused Microsoft Alumni Foundation and now also engages in philanthropic efforts. At the time of the merger, the combined organizations had 10,000 members — that number has more than tripled in the last three years.
Spain joined the network a year ago as its head of business development. She formerly spent eleven years in sales and marketing roles at Microsoft and also served as an integration director for the tech giant’s mergers and acquisitions team for a year.
“Regardless if you left years ago or if you’re walking out the door today, it’s my goal that you’re embraced by a community that fosters impactful connections,” Spain said in a press release.
Although the network works with Microsoft, it is a separate entity. Its strategic advisor is Rich Kaplan, Microsoft’s general manager of employee experience and HR services for the Americas. Kaplan is also on the Microsoft Alumni Network’s board of directors.
“I am so excited to support Ali as she works to take this community to the next level,” Brannan said in the release. “Along with Rich and our Board of directors, the business could not be in better hands.”
