LTGL - Eric Gales

Movie: Pulp Fiction

Book: A Long Walk To Freedom
(Nelson Mandela)

Hero: “Nelson Mandela. I have read every book there is to read about this great man. He took huge risks in his lifetime.”

Website: www.microsoft.com/canada

Favourite night of the week: Friday, when
I play league hockey in Burlington.

Diversions: Mountain biking along the trails of Sixteen Mile Creek, to Halton Hills or Kelso. He is also an amateur bike mechanic.


	story Maureen Scott photographs Steve Uhraney “This business is all about taking risks. The whole IT business is predicated by change,” smiles the debonair president. “People go scuba diving and they know the risks, but it’s the return they get from the experience that makes them overlook the risks. You have to take chances and be prepared to push the boundaries. When I first came to Canada from the UK, I was intrigued with ice hockey. I told a colleague here that I wanted to play, so we headed to Canadian Tire and loaded up the cart with everything I needed to play. I couldn’t even skate. So I signed up for lessons. I thought, what is the worst that could happen? "You flop around for a bit. You fall and you get up. Many companies are afraid to take risks. We are the opposite here. I expect our employees will make mistakes. We try to create a safe environment here to try new things. It’s okay to fail. What’s not okay is not to call it and to admit when something isn’t working. Our key philosophy is there is always a better way. Even if you invented it, challenge yourself to make it better before your competition gets there.” Eric has seen a staggering amount of change in the six years he has been at Microsoft Canada, first as vice-president and the last four as president. “The market has evolved over the past four years and we’ve had to adapt and evolve as a company. We’ve launched a lot of products in the last four years. I think the Xbox and Kinect surprised a few people who weren’t expecting it to be as amazing as it is. We sold eight million Kinect devices in 60 days - the fastest selling consumer product ever, I think.” Microsoft also took the IT world by storm with their cloud technology. “I think people are surprised by how far we’ve gone with the cloud technology to make it available to businesses and to consumers. We have demonstrated that we are the market leader on that technology. Instead of applications residing just on a PC, they reside in a data centre on the internet, which allows people to do more from their PC, phone or browser.” With a multitude of products and services from their search engine Bing, to gaming, email, business solution software and TV (through many telcos in Canada), how does he prioritise? Easy. “Our big theme is One Microsoft” explains Eric. “When I came here we were stove-piped into this product or that service. I had to break down some barriers and draw people back. We had to show employees the big picture (there are 450 employees at the head office in Mississauga and approximately 2,000 Microsoft employees across Canada). "Through education, we were able to show people how all of our products and services are interconnected. I am one of the few CEOs trying to add value and sell something to every person, every age group, every jurisdiction, from gaming to corporate applications. Our focus is on helping our customers to see and to use the full potential of our solutions “ “Security on the net is another priority at Microsoft,” explains Eric. “Our Take Back the Net program is about educating the public about safety. The internet is largely an anonymous world and bad guys can do bad things. We are conscious of that and we’re also working with law enforcement agencies and parents to help teach children to use the internet safely. With the increase in e-commerce, security becomes even more important. E-commerce in Canada lags behind other nations and we are hoping to build customer confidence with products like our Internet Explorer 9 (set to launch this fall), which has the capability to prevent people from tracking you on the net. We don’t want people to be afraid to buy products online.” If there is one other message Eric wants to drive home, it’s to show people how technology can improve their life. “My wife Lucy never wanted a Smart Phone until I bought one for her for Christmas and now she loves it.” says Eric. “Lucy is checking emails on the road and using the apps. And she is able to track me down more often,” he adds with a big smile. Eric and Lucy have been married for 14 years and have two children: Sam age 11 and Alice age 8. “We’ve known each other since we were 12 - attending the same school - we went our separate ways and got together in our 20s,” smiles Eric. “When I first received the call about moving to Canada for my previous role as VP, we had just finished refurbishing a house in the UK and I thought there’s no way Lucy will say yes,” says Eric. “Lucy did say yes, but my son Sam who was six at the time said, ‘see you later Dad, I’m staying with Grandma!’ The family settled in Oakville and have never looked back. “We love Canada and wish we had moved here years ago,” says Eric. “We love the pace, the culture, the access to outdoor activities, and we really enjoy the four seasons.” Eric feels that fate may have had a hand in the move to Canada. “Three years ago Sam was diagnosed with leukemia, and he is being treated at Sick Kids Hospital. If he was destined to get sick, we feel we have been blessed to be here so Sam can be treated by one of the most amazing hospitals in the world.” Eric wears a dark blue Sick Kids Hospital wrist band 24/7. “Sam bought it for me when he was first diagnosed. I told him that I would keep it on until he is well.” With a new round of treatments upcoming, Eric is hoping to take off the wristband and to be able to treat Sam to a road trip to see New York City. In his spare time, Eric enjoys riding either his mountain bike or his new road bike on the trails along the Sixteen Mile Creek, to the Halton Hills or the Kelso Conservation area. He is an amateur bike mechanic. “But,” says Eric, “my favourite night of the week is Friday when I play league hockey in Burlington.” Eric has one regret - that he didn’t buy shares in 1986 when Microsoft became a publicly traded company. Microsoft shares are said to have increased 20,000 percent since then, making many of the initial investors millionaires. Eric is right. Taking a little bit of risk can often reap a whole lot of reward. GL	Movie: Pulp Fiction Book: A Long Walk To Freedom (Nelson Mandela) Hero: “Nelson Mandela. I have read every book there is to read about this great man. He took huge risks in his lifetime.” Website: www.microsoft.com/canada Favourite night of the week: Friday, when I play league hockey in Burlington. Diversions: Mountain biking along the trails of Sixteen Mile Creek, to Halton Hills or Kelso. He is also an amateur bike mechanic.