Main Responsibilities of a Chief of Staff at Microsoft
Sonia, Microsoft's Chief of Staff, supports a corporate vice president overseeing Windows and Surface marketing, focusing on "three main buckets": executive support including strategy and OKRs; team support encompassing morale, culture, and training; and leading key product launches. This "jack of all trades" role provides broad organizational visibility and combines business management with marketing responsibilities.
Executive Leadership, Strategic Planning, Team Management, Project Management, Cross-functional Collaboration
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Sonia Dara
Chief of Staff
Microsoft
Harvard
N/A
Economics
Technology, Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Communication and Marketing
Honors Student, Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. The Chief of Staff role at Microsoft involves business management, not just traditional marketing.
2. Responsibilities include supporting the executive (executive comms, strategy, OKRs, fiscal year planning), supporting the team (team huddles, morale, training, compliance), and leading product launches.
3. The role acts as a 'jack of all trades,' handling projects without a clear owner and providing visibility across the organization
Transcript
What are your main responsibilities within your current role?
In my current role, I am a Chief of Staff to a marketing leader here at Microsoft. I report to a Corporate Vice President who oversees both Windows and Surface marketing. We are in the hardware business, focusing predominantly on consumer and commercial markets.
My role has three main components, making it less traditional and more about business management. The first is supporting the Corporate Vice President, which includes executive communications, strategy work, and OKR (Objectives and Key Results) management. This also involves strategic fiscal year planning.
The second component is supporting the marketing team itself. This covers monthly updates, team huddles, content, morale, culture, training, and compliance.
Third, I lead our key product launches for Windows and Surface hardware. I help program and manage this process across marketing, communications, and engineering teams.
Finally, a Chief of Staff role often acts as a catch-all. If a project or initiative doesn't have a clear owner, I help get it started and find the right home for it. It's a jack-of-all-trades position, and reporting to the leadership team provides significant visibility across the entire organization.