Microsoft is tightening its grip on the Polish market with the announcement of significant changes to the local leadership team. At a time when the IT industry is moving from a phase of simple digitisation to complex implementations of artificial intelligence, the Polish branch of the Redmond giant is relying on proven staff. The management team, led by CEO Iwona Szylar, is joined by Kamila Cichocka, taking on the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO), and Rafał Albin, who takes over as Director of Customer Development.
Kamila Cichocka’s appointment as COO signals an emphasis on operational excellence at a crucial time for the company, shortly after the opening of the Polish cloud region. Cichocka, who has been in the technology industry for more than two decades, brings a rare combination of sales and marketing perspective to the role. For the past 13 years within Microsoft, she has managed, among other things, marketing in the Central Europe region, with responsibility for strategy in dozens of markets. Her return to a tight focus on operations in Poland is aimed at tightening up internal processes and building new business models. As she points out, technology is now to be the catalyst for change, and her priority becomes building processes that support efficiency, which in the corporate jigsaw is key to maintaining growth momentum.
In parallel, Rafal Albin’s assumption of the role of Director of Customer Development is a clear signal to the enterprise market and the partner ecosystem. Albin is a Microsoft veteran with 16 years of experience, having worked his way up almost every rung of the management ladder – from consumer product sales in Romania, to partner channel management, to marketing and operations departments. His experience working with partners in the CEE region will be key in his new role, where the main challenge is to turn cloud and AI technologies into real business resilience for customers. Albin is tasked not only with selling technology, but more importantly with supporting the building of competitive advantages for Polish companies, which requires a deep understanding of the specifics of local business.
Both promotions are part of a broader strategy to stabilise Microsoft’s management team in Poland. Rather than looking externally for talent, the company is tapping into the deep institutional memory of its leaders to more efficiently navigate the era of data-driven transformation and artificial intelligence.
