Lindsey Craft-Goins
Lindsey Craft-Goins
Managing Director
Microsoft
Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Lindsey is the proud daughter of retired technologists, who encouraged exploration of the arts and sciences. It is through the daily observation of her mother (who holds an undergraduate degree in early childhood education, and a Master of Business Administration degree from a top engineering school), that Lindsey identified a desire to merge what seemed to be disparate interests. In this vein, she created a future vision of herself leading change in the classroom, through the employ of technological advances in a non-disruptive manner.
Lindsey has held sales and leadership positions throughout her career, with Clear Channel Communication, Johnson & Johnson, and IBM. It is from her engagements spanning the public sector at IBM that Lindsey began to study and understand the business of Education; reigniting her childhood dreams of helping students with technology, ensuring their learning styles were honored and skilling progressed.
It was not until her return to the Atlanta area in 2010 that Lindsey was recruited by Microsoft, to lead K12 sales strategy within the State of Georgia. Lindsey quickly moved into the management of strategic alliances for the Eastern Region of the United States, and then to the leadership of Microsoft’s Small and Medium Education Business Unit. It is through these experiences that Lindsey has been able to strengthen her ability to develop large scale strategies for needs abatement- a skill she employs daily in her role as the leader of the Partner and Channel Ecosystem sales strategy for Microsoft’s US Education Practice. With responsibilities for a book of business worth more than $1B, Lindsey guides her team in the development of strategies and sustainable business practices for the largest partners with whom Microsoft teams. Ultimately, her success is defined by Microsoft’s mission to empowering every person on the planet to do more, with a pivot towards a student’s ability in our national education system.
Lindsey holds a Bachelor of Science in Multinational Business degree from The Florida State University. She earned her Master of Business Administration in Management of Technology from The Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Certificate in Global Leadership from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. In her personal time, Lindsey focuses on causes close to her heart, inclusive of the mentoring and tutoring of elementary school aged children to increase literacy within disenfranchised communities (Tutormate), volunteering at local Atlanta animal rescue shelters, traveling, cake decorating, theological study, and spending time with her family.