Leaders of some of Microsoft’s most groundbreaking initiatives.
Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2025.
“A bookshelf-worthy choice for current and future innovation leaders” – Linda A. Hill on The Insider’s Guide to Innovation.
“Don’t deny yourself the joy of curling up with this one when contemplating your next big move.” – Rita McGrath on The Insider’s Guide to Innovation.
In their 2025 book, The Insider’s Guide to Innovation at Microsoft, Dean Carignan and JoAnn Garbin draw on their decades of experience driving transformative projects to define easy-to-use principles that help people rethink what innovation means – especially when it comes to creating meaningful and lasting solutions. The book serves as a true call to action that showcases how anyone can develop habits to innovate with purpose and resilience, tackling challenges such as sustainability, adaptability, and impact. Aligning innovation with purpose, they share insights that show how innovation can align with deeper social missions and use Microsoft case studies to demonstrate how innovating can be distilled into four Innovating Patterns.
An alumnus of Georgetown University and INSEAD, Dean has guided new initiatives at Microsoft through their early critical growth phases to their first billion dollars in revenue, including the early internet division, Xbox, and multiple AI efforts. Most recently, he has focused on leading AI innovations within Microsoft Research and the Office of the Chief Scientist.
A sustainability and technology entrepreneur, as director of innovation at Microsoft’s cloud business JoAnn led the development of billion-dollar initiatives, including the Regenerative Datacenter of the Future. In 2024, she founded Regenerous Labs, a collaboration committed to creating cross-sector transformations. JoAnn is an active alumnus of Villanova University, where she studied mechanical engineering and philosophy.
The Insider’s Guide to Innovation at Microsoft (2025). Lessons from Microsoft’s Responsible AI Journey with Dean Carignan (The AI in Business podcast); Navigating AI Innovation Ecosystems: Insights on Co-Innovation & Organizational Transformation (INSEAD digital Tech Talk, October 2024); ‘A Big Step Forward to Empower Innovators Everywhere’ (LinkedIn, November 2024); ‘The How Behind Microsoft’s 50 Years of Dominance’ (LinkedIn, November 2024).
“This isn’t just a book—it’s your golden ticket to Microsoft’s factory of creativity and constant learning.”
Whitney Johnson, Thinkers50 Ranked Thinker, author of Disrupt Yourself
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