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Microsoft Dave Coplin Technology

Microsoft’s Dave Coplin leaves to set up ‘envisioning’ consultancy

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By Charlotte McEleny, Asia Editor

September 4, 2017 | 3 min read

Dave Coplin has left Microsoft after 12 years, where he spent the majority of his time under the moniker of chief envisioning officer in the UK.

Dave Coplin

Dave Coplin leaves Microsoft to set up his own consultancy

He leaves to set up The Envisioners, a company which will aim to help organisations meet the opportunity of becoming a 21st century society.

In an emotional farewell post on LinkedIn, Coplin thanked Microsoft for letting him work in his own way and “raise my freak flag high”.

“I didn’t join Microsoft because I loved them or their products (although I can tell you they are one of the best companies that I have ever worked for). I joined them because I wanted to help the world get more from the incredible potential that technology had to offer, and I wanted to find a platform that would give me the best chance of having the most impact.

For a long time, Microsoft let me raise my freak flag high and allowed me to build and grow my own brand and empowered me to do my best work in my own way. And it’s with that in mind that means it’s time for me to make some changes,” he said.

In recent years he helped drive the conversation within the industry around AI, partnering with Tate Britain last year. At the time, he said: “We want to be driving the conversation of ‘humans plus machines’ rather than ‘humans versus machines’.

“We’ve got 40 years’ heritage in helping humans achieve more with technology than they could do on their own, and nowhere is this more important than in a world of AI.”

The rise of the humans is fundamental to the premise of The Envisioners and was also the title of one of Coplin’s books.

Microsoft Dave Coplin Technology

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