Linda Stone

Biography
Linda Stone co-founded and directed the Virtual Worlds (now Social Computing Group) in Microsoft Research in 1994. This research group focused on improving online human social interactions and continues to do this work today. Stone initiated and directed a variety of projects including HutchWorld, PhotoStory and V-Chat. In early 2000, Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, tapped Stone to move from the “virtual world” to the “real world.” For 2 years, Stone served under Ballmer as a corporate VP for Microsoft, working actively to improve Microsoft’s external relationships and to create a variety of outreach initiatives. Many of these efforts live on today, such as, the Visiting Speaker Series and Microsoft’s World Economic Forum participation. Prior to her tenure at Microsoft, Stone worked at Apple for 7.5 years on market development and developer relations, initiating many key technology, evangelism and market development initiatives, and pioneering work in multimedia and online publishing. Stone also worked for Apple CEO, John Sculley. She retired from Microsoft in April 2002 to work on writing and creative projects. Today, she writes, speaks, consults. Stone serves on the national board of the World Wildlife Fund, has won volunteer awards for her work with Dean Kamen’s F.I.R.S.T. non-profit, and is involved with the Philanthropic Collaborative for Integrative Medicine.

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