20 Years at Microsoft. Now Helping Technical Teams Find Their Voice.
I'm Ben Pearce - founder of Elevated You and a communication and storytelling coach for technical teams.
Before I started coaching, I spent over 20 years working at the heart of the technology industry. Most of those were at Microsoft, where I progressed from customer-facing engineer to leading some of Microsoft's most complex technical teams in the UK.
I've been in the rooms your teams are in. I've run customer-critical escalations, led PreSales and Solution Architecture teams, managed consulting practices, and presented to boards, enterprise clients and global conferences. I know what it takes to communicate with clarity and confidence under pressure. And I know what it costs when you can't.
Where the Thinking Was Forged
My career at Microsoft spanned roles on both sides of the table, as an individual technical contributor and as a people leader responsible for teams, revenue and customer outcomes.
As a Customer Engineer, I worked directly with enterprise customers on their most complex technical challenges - the kind where the business was down and the pressure was real. I learned early that technical brilliance alone wasn't enough. The engineers who made the greatest impact were the ones who could communicate what they knew in a way that built trust and drove action.
I moved into leadership. As a Practice Manager, Head of Data and AI Cloud Solution Architecture, and ultimately Head of Cloud Solution Architecture for Azure, I saw this pattern repeat at every level. The most technically capable people in the room were frequently the least heard. And the organisations that invested in changing that saw the difference immediately.
One of the things I'm most proud of from my Microsoft years is a program I created to develop top talent into industry leaders through their communication skills. We specifically built their ability to perform on stage, on camera, and online. That program planted the seed for everything Elevated You does today.
Why I Started Elevated You
I left Microsoft in 2022 with a clear mission: to bring the communication and storytelling skills I'd spent two decades developing to the technical teams who need them most. I'd seen too many people struggle without them.
The gap I kept seeing wasn't a technical one. It was a human one. Brilliant engineers who couldn't get their ideas funded. PreSales teams who lost deals they should have won. Consultants who delivered outstanding work but couldn't articulate its value. Customer Success teams who knew the product inside out but couldn't have the conversations that drove renewal. Engineering teams that couldn't justify investment from their senior leaders.
Every one of those problems is solvable. That's what Elevated You exists to do.
See How We Work With Teams
What We Stand For
Build Up
We strive for a positive and healthy environment. We build people up, not tear them down.
Integrity
We do what we say we'll do and clearly communicate if there are challenges.
Quality
We believe in quality; when we do something we do it well.
Diversity
We celebrate and invest in diversity. We know we're better together and greater than the sum of our parts.
Philanthropy
We are philanthropists. We want the world to be a better place and want to play our part.
Sustainability
We have one planet and want it to last. Sustainability is core to all that we do.
Want to Know If This Is Right for Your Team?
The best way to find out is a straightforward conversation. Book 30 minutes directly into Ben's diary. No slides, no sales pitch, just an honest discussion about where your team is and what they need.