Since I left Microsoft almost two years ago, I have had lots of opportunity to reflect on the successes (and failures) in my career and how it has shaped me to where I am now and prepared me for where I think I am going in the future (which ironically seems even more exciting than the past). For me, the key to success has been the constant quest for learning. If I think about it, it’s about curiosity (wanting to know about everything), humility (realizing you are not the smartest person in the room), and most importantly, relationships. On the last point, it’s the people in my career that have really opened my eyes and disrupted my own thinking and beliefs.
This point leads me to one of my fundamental beliefs: In the later part of our career (and, frankly, in the early part of our career), we must always think about giving back by mentoring the next generation of leaders. But the truth of the matter is, the people I mentored have all been and are great mentors for me, even today. So, I would like to share some of the people who have fundamentally changed my thinking throughout my career, both as a mentor and as a mentee. This list, by all means, is not comprehensive, so I apologize in advance if I have left off some of your names. All of you know who you are, and my deep appreciation goes to every one of you!
Those Who Mentored Me
I have been fortunate to have many great mentors in my career—people whom I not only looked up to but also took the time to invest, in both teaching me and taking risks on my abilities. Again, there were many, but here are a few.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christian Belady is highly experienced in managing data center and infrastructure development on a global scale. Currently, he is an advisor and board member of several companies in the infrastructure space. Previously, he served as Vice President and Distinguished Engineer of Data Center R&D for Microsoft’s Cloud Infrastructure Organization, where he developed one of the largest data center footprints in the world. Before that, he was responsible for driving the strategy and delivery of server and facility development for Microsoft’s data center portfolio worldwide.
With over 160 patents, Belady is a driving force behind innovative thinking and quantitative benchmarking in the field. He is an originator of the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metric, was a key player in the development of the iMasons’ Climate Accord (ICA), and has worked closely with government agencies to define efficiency metrics for data centers and servers. Over the years, he has received many awards, most recently the NVTC Data Center Icon Award, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
