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What do you do when a dream opportunity arrives at an inopportune time?

For Miki Tsusaka, it called for some tough conversations with the people she trusted most.

This episode is part of our Builders mini series, where we talk with founders, product managers, and digital leaders about what drives their passion for building.

Miki is now the president of Microsoft Japan, where she’s leading AI adoption and digital transformation across industries. Before joining Microsoft, she spent over three decades at BCG, rising from associate to global CMO.

In this episode, Miki shares how she’s bringing lessons from her consulting career into leading a major tech organization, and how growing up with strong women role models shaped her approach to work and life. She also offers a grounded take on AI: why using it well requires a willingness to build new muscles over time.

01:50 A Dream Job Offer

04:15 Solving Language Barriers With AI

05:56 Women in Tech Leading AI Adoption

09:56 The 70-20-10 Rule

11:50 A Family of Educators

15:09 Blind Spots and Finding Commonality

17:10 Buying Cookies for The Bake Sale

19:15 Reflections

Links:

Miki Tsusaka on LinkedIn

Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn

Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn

BCG Report: Women Leaders in Tech Are Paving the Way in GenAI

About In Her Ellement:

In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element?

About The Hosts:

Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders.

Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.

Training for Change in the Age of AI, with Microsoft’s Miki Tsusaka