On to new adventures

After another great and rewarding stint with Cortana, I said another difficult “goodbye” to the awesome team behind Microsoft’s digital assistant. Here’s the email I sent out to the organization…

Hi all,

It’s time to say goodbye again 🙁 […]

I continue to believe in Microsoft’s mission and values. I think that Satya has been doing an amazing job at transforming the company in terms of culture, vision, and execution. I am honored to have worked twice for this wonderful company, next to amazing people like all of you.

Take care of my baby… Cortana. I totally subscribe to the new vision and focus on M365 users and experiences. You are well-positioned to fundamentally impact users’ lives. Do your best to give quality time back to the users. Obsess about what’s good for them. I am inspired by the “This Panda is Dancing” poem. In my mind, the “Center for Humane Technology” says it well… we need to realign technology with humanity’s best interests in mind. You can do that! Cortana can deliver on that idea!

Too many people to thank by name. Thanks to all of you! Thanks to my leaders for being so kind to me. Thanks to Microsoft for helping me realize my dreams. Who knows? I might end up working for this company again at some point in the future. I’d definitely like to do so. But for now, it’s time for a break…

The first decision I have to make is where on this planet I am going to spend February. Strong candidates are (i) a 3-week motorcycle trip around Patagonia (Argentina and Chile) or (ii) a backpacking adventure in South Africa, Madagascar, Maldives, and Greece to visit my family. I am open to other suggestions. I am planning to travel throughout February and, along the way, finish the code for v1 of a fun side project that Mike Calcagno and I started, read from my ever-growing queue of books, and see cool new places. After that, we’ll see.

Keep in touch!

LinkedIn, twitter, web/blog, Facebook, email.

Work on things that matter to users and have fun while doing so!

.savas.

— 
Savas Parastatidis, PhD | Cortana Architect & Co-Founder | Microsoft