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The Mark East Conversation
Mark East is the regional business leader for Education in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Microsoft, leading a team of approx. 250 people dedicated to helping Institutions transform education through the efficient & effective use of information technology. He is accountable for all operations for Higher Education and K12 institutions, Ministries of Education and Libraries and Museums.
Mark joined Microsoft UK in 1988 to establish Microsoft UK’s Education division. In 1990, he was awarded the Microsoft UK President’s Award in recognition of his work serving Education institutions throughout the UK.
Since joining Microsoft, Mark has led teams in Enterprise, Small Business, Home & Retail and Channel infrastructure and latterly specialising in Public-Sector. Mark was appointed to the Microsoft UK board or directors in 2000.
Mark lived in Seattle, Washington for 2 years whilst leading the worldwide Education division before returning to the UK to provide Education leadership to the EMEA Region. In September 2005, Mark was awarded the Microsoft achievement award for sustained high level contributions to Microsoft leadership in education.
Mark’s philanthropy is focused on Education. In 2008 he built a secondary school in the Mauta village on Mfangano Island, Lake Victoria, Kenya and has sponsored graduating students through University. Mark also founded Digital Pipeline, a UK registered charity, whose aim is to empower communities through access to technology and served as chairman for several years. More recently he has been funding the development of a Gorilla Research centre in Bwindi, Uganda.
Before joining Microsoft, Mark spent 8 years with a Microsoft partner – Micro Facilities – having worked for them part time whilst he was at college.
In his spare time, Mark enjoys spending time with family and researching materials for the historical novels he hopes to write when he retires. He is an ardent supporter of the UK football club Queens Park Rangers (QPR), having worked for the club in his youth. He is “still” learning to play golf.
