“A lot of people think you have to choose between being a leader of people versus being a leader of technology,” said Larson-Green in an interview with AnitaBorg.org about her career and the award. “I don’t know how you can do one without the other.”
Larson-Green has been with Microsoft since 1993, and currently holds the position of Chief Experience Officer as part of the company’s My Life & Work team. She has been deeply involved with the development of the Office suite since moving to the project from the Internet Explorer team in 1997.
Whether or not you recognize the name Julie Larson-Green, you’ve almost certainly seen the benefits of her work. She’s credited with the Ribbon interface that was introduced in Office 2007, which earned her Microsoft’s Outstanding Technical Leadership award for 2008. Larson-Green would then take the Ribbon interface element to other areas of Windows when she was promoted in 2012.
A self-taught programmer, Larson-Green offered some words of encouragement to women looking to enter the field of technology. “Don’t let anything be a barrier to you. Don’t stop yourself,” she said. “We often create these false impressions of what we’re supposed to be able to do or it’s okay for us to do. You can do anything you want. It’s not other people’s approval that you’re looking for. It’s how you feel about yourself.”
Julie Larson-Green will receive the 2015 Women of Vision ABIE Award for Leadership at an awards banquet on May 14, 2015.
