CEO Microsoft - Austria and Germany
Collaboration has always been at the heart of Uniquely Wired – and few partnerships capture that spirit better than Henkel and Microsoft. Together, we’ve long been driving digital transformation through cloud and AI innovation, including the use of Microsoft Azure for Henkel’s data foundation. Naturally, then, we turned to one of Microsoft’s brightest leaders, Agnes Heftberger, to explore what leadership looks like in the AI era.
There’s only one person who can lay claim to the title of youngest ever CEO of Microsoft Austria and Germany – and that person is Agnes Heftberger.
Agnes is an accomplished business leader, whose career blends a rare combination of global perspective, technological vision, and people-first leadership. After two decades at IBM, she joined Microsoft in 2024 as CEO of Microsoft Germany. She now leads the organization through one of the most transformative eras in technology: the rise of AI. Her mission is to help businesses realize the power of AI to bring sustainable and manageable growth.
“I want to enable people to give their best. And I immediately felt a fresh energy at Microsoft – and with that came my determination to strengthen Germany as a leading AI location.”
Beyond driving digital transformation, Agnes is deeply committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion – championing environments where curiosity and creativity thrive. For Agnes, “Leadership is more than a title in a hierarchy; it’s about inspiring people to rally behind a shared mission and feel empowered to make a difference.”
Her story is one of drive and resilience – one that cements the idea that with a little determination, leaders can not only shape the future of technology but also inspire those who bring it to life.
Leaving IBM for Microsoft brought about a major change – one underscored by a need to quickly understand the culture and dynamics of a large corporation whose inner workings she was unfamiliar with.
The challenge was to quickly build trust and galvanize her new regional team to join her in their shared mission.
For Agnes, good leadership always starts with culture. One of the biggest drivers for this grounding philosophy is her experience working with people from different backgrounds. This gave her an acute sense of how differently people receive workplace hierarchies depending on their background and surroundings, and the impact this has on a manager’s ability to lead well.
What is considered a strength in one country can be perceived as hesitancy in another. In Germany, managers are openly challenged – decisions are questioned and even criticized as a matter of best practice. Whereas in Southeast Asia, Agnes learned to pay much more attention to indirect signals, to build trust in personal conversations and read between the lines. “But in the end, it's all about inspiring people to join a mission and getting them excited about it. If you listen with empathy and respect cultural nuances, you can lead authentically anywhere. And it’s these principles that guide me at Microsoft.”
It’s Agnes’ belief that AI is not only helping employees make significant productivity gains and improve their work-life balance, but it’s turning everyday employees into leaders. This is a phenomenon that Microsoft’s Work Trend Index refers to as “agent bosses.”
Agnes recounts that joining Microsoft was when she first experienced the positive power of AI up close, describing her onboarding with Copilot as particularly exciting. She used it as a personal “onboarding buddy” – one that was competent, motivating, and available 24/7.
“My AI buddy was a real gamechanger. It provided onboarding support like never before. I could ask it about every abbreviation, about guidelines, contacts, responsibilities, and much more. “This eventually even led to the creation of Agnes’ own AI agent: ABBA – Agnes’ Business Buddy Agent for everyday topics.
“ABBA helps me prioritize tasks, structure information, and prepare decisions. For me, AI is already both a tool and a colleague.”
Copilot and AI agents are no longer just tools – they’re increasingly becoming more like team members. They take on tasks, prepare decisions, and relieve heavy workloads for employees.
“For example, our sales staff close deals faster with AI support. And in our customer service, we have been able to reduce costs by $500 million globally while raising the quality of service, resulting in higher satisfaction of both customers and employees.”
All this progress is not without its challenges, and innovations require the infrastructure to match. Agnes knows this well, which is why Microsoft is investing €3.2 billion to expand cloud and AI infrastructure in Germany. The investment includes optimizing the Frankfurt region and building an entirely new data center hub in the Rhenish mining area – transforming a coal region into an AI ecosystem.
“By establishing our new data center region in Elsdorf, Bedburg, and Bergheim, we actively support structural change and lay the foundation for a thriving AI ecosystem,” she explains. But building the digital infrastructure is only half the story. The true potential of AI will only be realized if people are equipped with the skills to use it. Together with local partners from business, municipalities, schools, and educational institutions, Microsoft launched an AI qualification initiative that’s already reached over 100,000 people.
The initiative includes a program of AI training for all public school teachers, as well as around 33,000 employees in the Ministry of Finance in North Rhine-Westphalia. “Education and technology must be brought together to create real impact. I am particularly proud of initiatives like the ReDi School of Digital Integration and Wolfsburg 42, which show how practical and inclusive AI education can succeed.”
For Agnes this mission is personal: “As the child of two teachers, education and skilling is a topic close to my heart. That’s why we have launched our AI education campaign to equip people all over Germany with AI skills.” For this reason, Microsoft is co-funding projects like the Alliance for AI Competence in Germany – now reaching more than 30 companies and over a million employees.
In Agnes’ view, innovative leadership must provide both guidance and space. This means having the courage to not only take responsibility but also loosen the reigns.
“I set the direction and openly say what is and isn't possible, but I don't pretend to have all the answers. I consciously leave room for my colleagues' ideas, their experiences and expertise, but, most importantly, for mistakes.” In today’s AI-powered world, Agnes’ message is clear: understand the technology, create the infrastructure needed to make it happen – but don’t forget the people.
“We need generalists with depth and specialists with vision. The future belongs to those who build bridges between IT, business, innovation, and take responsibility for moving things forward.” Against this backdrop, curiosity, ethical awareness, and interdisciplinary thinking are non-negotiables. AI is not an end, it will help us evolve our objectives and meet them faster – therefore, it must be designed to be safe, sustainable, and inclusive.
Agnes Heftberger has been serving as Corporate Vice President and Chairwoman of the Executive Board of Microsoft Germany since April 2024. Agnes Heftberger consistently focuses on innovation and customer orientation, thus promoting sustainable and inclusive growth as an experienced executive in the technology industry. Her global perspective and experience are particularly important during a time when AI is changing the innovation and production processes of many industries in Germany.
Austrian-born Heftberger holds a Master’s degree in International Business from the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
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