One of the problems with a company like Microsoft is that its size, reach, and legacy precedes itself. You say “Microsoft, and you imagine an impossibly large global enterprise that is somehow everywhere at once. And while that might not be entirely the truth, it’s not too far off the mark, either, and few people appreciate that more than David Howard, Microsoft’s corporate VPand deputy general counsel, Litigation, Competition Law and Compliance. He is responsible for the company’s litigation and anti-trust worldwide, as well as its compliance program.
Howard will be the first to tell you that with 120,000 people doing business in more than 190 countries, there are going to be problems, sometimes even serious ones, and that even the best compliance program in the world can’t prevent that entirely from happening. Howard will also tell you that the main issues he faces as Microsoft’s head of compliance aren’t that far off from what other compliance professionals at other organizations around the world also face.
