Pamela started her new role as Chief AI Transformation Officer at Microsoft MCAPS on October 1 this year. Prior to this she was the CEO of Avanade, the leading digital innovator on the Microsoft ecosystem, where she headed up the leading global provider of digital, cloud, AI and advisory services, industry solutions and design-led experiences across the Microsoft ecosystem. 

Renowned in the technology industry for her pursuit of innovation and as a champion of inclusivity and diversity, she is passionate about building a people-first culture, and while at Avande led a global team of 60,000-plus employees. 

As the eldest daughter of Windrush immigrants, Maynard says she developed her leadership skills caring for her siblings from a young age. One of the few people of colour in her Basingstoke school , she was prepared from an early age to face barriers on the road to success: her parents taught her to ‘hustle smart’. 

Maynard has dedicated her 25-plus-year career to helping clients rethink their strategies by harnessing the power of digital innovation to renew and grow their businesses. Before being named CEO of Avanade in 2019, she was its President of Product and Innovation. Maynard expanded and sharpened Avanade’s commitment to creating a culture where diverse perspectives, backgrounds and skills were valued.

She also served as executive sponsor of the firm’s Technology for Social Good initiative, which lends cloud and digital technology skills and expertise to non-profit organisations. Since she became CEO, Avanade earned more than 150 employer awards. 

Achievements on her watch included the hiring of a first-ever Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer; women accounting for 35.5 per cent of promotions and 40 per cent of new hires; 100 per cent gender pay equity globally as of December 2022; and mandatory unconscious bias and anti-racism courses for employees. 

Maynard sits on the boards of the Royal Horticultural Society and Junior Achievement Worldwide. She was named FDM Everywoman’s 2023 Woman of the Year, Stevie Awards for Women in Business’s Female Executive of the Year 2023, and Black Tech Awards’ Diversity Champion 2024, among other honours.