Stéfany Mazon is in charge of one of the most strategic areas for big tech
Stéfany Mazon moves away from the Generation Z stereotype , to which she belongs. While studies show that young people today bounce from company to company and are not looking to build a career or take on leadership roles, at 28 years old , Mazon is the youngest leader at Microsoft in Brazil . “I want to be CEO at 40” , says the sales director of Azure, big tech’s cloud computing platform , which has boosted the company’s results worldwide.
This market, valued at US$483.98 billion in 2022, is expected to reach US$1.55 trillion in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 14.1%, according to data from research and consultancy company Grand View Research. “We are always growing because the cloud market is on the rise,” says Mazon. Microsoft doesn’t release local numbers, but globally, revenue from cloud products and services increased 22% in the fourth quarter of 2023, driven by 30% growth in revenue from Azure and other services.
Woman in tech
Mazon has been working with AI for 10 years, well before the hype. In 2017, she gave a TEDx on the subject, but it was more recently that his career caught on with the boom in this technology. “It was an intentional ride because artificial intelligence will help, and is already helping, to democratize technology, which is my big goal.”
In this AI universe, women represent 30% of professionals, and are 29.2% of workers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), shows a 2023 World Economic Forum report .
Although Microsoft has achieved gender equity in leadership and Stéfany has examples of senior executives. “I went from an all-girls class to an all-boys class in college,” she says. Mazon is an Orthodox Jew and studied at a school with split classes.
Standing out in exact sciences, he studied electronic engineering at the encouragement of a high school physics teacher. “I asked her how the electronic whiteboard worked and she replied that if I took the course I would understand. I still don’t understand it to this day, but that’s when I realized I wanted to go into technology.”
Having financial difficulties during college, at the Mauá Institute of Technology, the only teacher on the course took her to a scientific initiation project, which helped her continue her studies. “Many women have pushed me throughout my career.”
Secret of success
With this project, developing software based on AI for translating Libra languages , she secured an award from IBM and a job as a researcher at the IT giant. “I entered this world of accessibility when it wasn’t even talked about much, 10 years ago,” she says. Before completing college, she had already earned four AI research patents .
At IBM, where she stayed for seven years, she was encouraged by a boss to make the transition to the commercial area , which accelerated her career. “Having a technical background helps a lot,” says Mazon. And it was also what led her to leadership at Microsoft. “It has a lot of value because we actually solve a customer’s problem and not just sell a solution that will have no future.”
The vision and experience in artificial intelligence on the CV also counted towards being promoted four times in almost four years, in addition to the ambition. “The main thing is to have the desire and be very vocal. Everyone has to pursue their goals”, says Mazon, who joined Microsoft in 2020, as a cloud sales specialist.
But even with all this in mind, the executive received a visit from impostor syndrome when she was promoted to her current position, leading a team of seven people made up of mostly older and more experienced professionals. “Sometimes, we, especially women, are very focused on the gap [on what we lack], and I started looking at the gain, at the achievements”, she says, citing a book she recently read, The Gap and The Gain, by Dan Sullivan. “To be the youngest leader, I had to work hard. I’m good, but I don’t know everything , I’m in a learning process.”
Today, she is an MBA professor at Ibmec and mentors young Jewish women about relocation and career development.
To work with technology and always be at the forefront of innovations, the executive maintains a study routine. “I’m no longer hands-on every day, but I maintain the mentality of continuing to study,” she says, who reads a lot, takes courses, takes advantage of São Paulo’s traffic to listen to audiobooks and podcasts and stays aware of the sector and to conversations with customers.
He also maintains a daily physical exercise routine to alleviate the pressure of corporate work. He does some sport or strength training every day, except on Saturdays, when he practices Shabbat , the sacred day of weekly rest in Judaism. “We disconnect every Friday at sunset until Saturday also at sunset,” he explains. This disconnection involves not using any type of technology, including elevators. “It’s a time to reflect and return to the week, which is super busy, with more awareness.”
The trajectory of Stéfany Mazon, sales leader at Azure, at Microsoft.
First leadership position
“That was when I took over the Azure strategy team in Brazil. This moment was very important for me because I truly understood the immensity and possibilities we have with technology.”
Who helped me
“I need to name a few people. First, my mother, who is an example of a woman, who always told me that I could be whoever I wanted to be. Second, the physics teacher who changed my life and showed me the path to electronic engineering. Third, the professor who gave me the possibility of doing scientific initiation, I entered this world of accessibility and consequently had the possibility of working in a multinational. And the fourth was my manager who encouraged me to go to the sales floor. He believed in me and my potential in the commercial area, which really accelerated my trajectory. Lastly, my husband. Having a real partner is something that helps me a lot.”
Turning point
“There were two moments. The first was when I turned to the commercial area, because this greatly accelerated my trajectory and gave me the possibility of growing and impacting more people. And the second was when I took over the strategy area because I had a much broader vision and was able to connect the technical world with the commercial world and at the same time all aspects of strategy and innovation. It was very important and added a lot to the position I am in today, as a sales leader.”
What do I still want to do
«This is easy. I want to be a CEO at 40 years old. And today I would like to mention two other things: I want to continue impacting people, I want to encourage other women in STEM, through training and being a reference. And I want to help with the democratization of technology.”
Causes I embrace
“Women in IT and especially young people entering the job market. I want to help people think outside the box, mainly because with all this change in technology, we increasingly need to understand that the jobs of today may not be the jobs of the future.”
