Before she was a leader in engineering at Microsoft, Gebi Liang was an English major. I bring this up not just because I’m a writer (though, of course, I’m biased), but because it explains so much about the way she approaches technology.
When I first reached out to Gebi for an interview, I expected to learn about product design and AI. What I didn’t expect was how thoughtful and emotionally rich her responses would be. In a field so often dominated by scale and efficiency, Gebi talks about vulnerability and storytelling. She brings a kind of quiet power, the kind that listens before it speaks.
This part of our conversation focuses on her personal path: the risks she took moving from humanities to tech, how writing shaped her approach to engineering, and how emotional honesty has become a leadership strength in her work. Keep updated for part 2: building the future with empathy and AI.
Ms. Gebi Liang is the vice president of engineering for Teams and SharePoint for Microsoft China. She leads the engineering organization to develop Teams, one of the world’s fastest growing collaboration platforms. She leads enhancements to SharePoint Online, one of the world’s largest SaaS.
Before her current role, she worked for many years in Microsoft’s public cloud, launching several Azure services from ideation to market release. She spearheaded the China Cloud Innovation Center (CCIC), which played a key role in addressing the unique technical needs of China-based customers’ journey to the cloud.
Ms. Liang is a passionate advocate of Microsoft’s culture of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I). She leads multiple efforts to drive more equitable representation and promote career development for Microsoft’s female employees, as well as to advance diversity and inclusion culture in the workplace. She actively participates in a broad array of activities outside of Microsoft to inspire women to pursue STEM careers, as well as nurture an emerging generation of female business and technology leaders. Ms. Liang was featured on Forbes China's 50 Top Women in Tech and the Fortune China’s Most Powerful Women in 2020.
Note: The following interview has been lightly reordered for accessibility and flow.
Happy Liang: You began as an English major and shifted into STEM—how has your writing background influenced your approach to engineering, product design, or innovation?
Gebi Liang: My writing background taught me how to think clearly, communicate with empathy, and see problems from multiple perspectives. In engineering and product design, that translates into user-centered thinking, storytelling through data, and building technology that resonates with real human needs. Writing also helps me lead with clarity—whether I’m aligning teams or shaping product vision.
HL: Your diverse career spans Intel, Microsoft, cloud innovation, and now collaborative platforms. Looking back, are there moments of uncertainty or emotional risk that shaped your leadership philosophy or approach to building technology?
GL: Absolutely. Shifting from humanities to engineering, stepping into leadership roles, or advocating for inclusion in high-stakes environments—all involved emotional risk. But those moments taught me that uncertainty is where growth happens. They shaped my belief that strong leadership isn’t about having all the answers—it’s about listening, learning, and creating space for others to thrive. That mindset influences how I build teams and technology: with humility, empathy, and a deep respect for the human side of innovation.
HL: As a female engineering leader in one of the world’s most innovative sectors, what unique perspectives or strengths do you believe women bring to technology development, particularly when considering human needs and ethics?
GL: Women bring essential strengths to tech, especially when it comes to human needs and ethics. Empathy, systems thinking, and a collaborative mindset help ensure technology is inclusive and responsible. Many women also bring the courage to challenge norms and advocate for underrepresented voices—critical for ethical innovation. When diverse perspectives are at the table, we build tech that better reflects and serves the world.
HL: You’ve championed diversity and supported women returning to tech. How have you seen emotional honesty and vulnerability contribute to more inclusive leadership, especially in high-performance environments?
GL: In high-performance environments, there’s often an unspoken pressure to appear invulnerable—to always have the answers, to never show doubt. But I’ve found that emotional honesty and vulnerability are not signs of weakness; they’re powerful tools for building trust, inclusion, and resilience. It shows authenticity, which helps to connect with people. When leaders are open about challenges, it creates psychological safety and encourages others to speak up. In my experience, it’s one of the most underrated leadership strengths, especially in environments where performance and inclusion must go hand in hand.
HL: In what ways has storytelling—whether personal, technical, or product-focused—been a leadership tool for you?
GL: I believe storytelling is a critical skill for any role as it's an effective communication method. Many times people may have the perception that engineers may not need such skills as they work on technical problems. I want to emphasize that engineers definitely could benefit by having great story telling ability as they need to make their points clear & understood. And storytelling has been a key leadership tool for me. Whether I’m sharing personal lessons, explaining technical concepts, or aligning teams around a product vision, stories help me connect with people, build trust, and inspire action. They turn complex ideas into something relatable and memorable—making leadership more human and impactful.