In less than a decade since earning his MBA, Ali Ijaz can already lay claim to a wealth of experience and achievements at the tech giants of 3M, Amazon, and now Microsoft.

Stationed at Microsoft’s headquarters near Seattle, Ijaz leads a technical product management team in the United States and India charged with driving business results and launching industry-leading products and offers that improve the cloud experience of Microsoft’s largest customers and brand-impacting global events, including last year’s FIFA World Cup.

"His experiences have taken him from San Marcos to Redmond, Washington, and have impacted over 1 billion people globally through the wide variety of unique and complex products he has brought to market,” said Dr. Sanjay Ramchander, dean of TXST’s McCoy College of Business.

Ijaz’s leadership and entrepreneurial skills were evident during his time in San Marcos. He served as president of the Texas State contingent of more than 200 students that won the US National Competition (out of 500+ universities) and represented team USA at the World club in Beijing, an international competition for students to create projects showcasing their entrepreneur skills in service of social good.

In 2014, the team presented four projects, including Mobile Loaves and Fishes, designed to help homeless people earn a living and a Budget Infographics project that provided mayors, city councils, and citizens a simple way to view their city budgets.

While Ijaz has been a three-time recipient of the Enactus MVP award for his projects at TXST, Ramchander said Ijaz is most proud of the impact that work has had on the community. All told, those efforts helped more than 1,200 people in Central Texas gain employment; assisted dozens of homeless veterans improve their livelihood; grew sales for more than 50 local small businesses; trained refugees on critical skills and helped them earn employment; and taught senior citizens how to use technology.

Looking ahead, Ijaz is developing a startup that Ramchander notes could result in a “potentially revolutionary concept” being brought to market in late 2023 after beta testing. He recruited five Texas State grads to accelerate the launch of the platform and plot for an aggressive expansion next year.

"Ali Ijaz is an excellent ambassador for Texas State, and his meteoric rise in his profession is an inspiration for our students," Ramchander said.