After more than three years as vice president of Microsoft Corp.’s Enterprise and Partner Group in the western United States with increased growth in customer satisfaction, market integration and sales, Ralph Young is taking on new global responsibilities for Microsoft. He has assumed the role of vice president of its worldwide public sector business.

In this newly created position, Young will manage Microsoft’s efforts around government, education and healthcare industries as well as the teams responsible for public sector programs, partnerships, partners, services and marketing.

“Our government, education and healthcare customers are critically important to Microsoft, and we are dedicated to serving those customers that serve our citizens around the world. We wanted to bring in a proven strategic leader who understands the positive effect that technology can have across the public sector,” said Gerri Elliott, corporate vice president of the Worldwide Public Sector at Microsoft. “Ralph’s proven track record in enterprise sales for Microsoft, along with more than 25 years in IT, makes him more than qualified for this international leadership role.”

Young joined Microsoft in 1998 as the general manager of sales and marketing for TransPoint, a joint venture between Microsoft, First Data Corp. and Citibank that helped pioneer Internet billing and payment technology. Young also served as vice president of Microsoft’s Enterprise Sales Strategy Group, responsible for worldwide sales strategy and the development of the enterprise sales force, models, processes, tools and training.

“This is an incredible opportunity to work with governments, educational institutions and healthcare organizations, which make such a significant impact on people worldwide,” Young said. “My goal is to continue to put customers first, understand their priorities, and help them realize their vision and potential utilizing the power of technology.”

Young holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago and a bachelor of arts degree in business management and psychology from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.

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