A Microsoft Treasurer Reflects on People, Tech and Inclusion

# People and Talent

# AI

Retired Microsoft treasurer Anita Mehra shares lessons on leadership, peer networks and the evolving role of treasury.

Anita Mehra , who retired in February as Microsoft’ s treasurer after a two-decade career at the company, joins NeuGroup founder and CEO Joseph Neu on the latest episode of NeuGroup’s Strategic Finance Lab podcast, available now on Apple and Spotify . In the conversation, Ms. Mehra reflects on her journey, the role of treasury in driving business strategy and the importance of mentorship and inclusion.

“We’ve all heard the saying that it’s not what you did or what you accomplished, it’s how you make people feel that matters,” she tells Mr. Neu in the podcast. “That’s what I’m going to miss.”

Anita Mehra, Microsoft Treasurer

From academia to treasury leadership. Before joining the corporate world, Ms. Mehra taught finance at the University of Wisconsin. In her first years in finance, she spent time at Lam Research and LSI Logic (now Broadcom ), before joining Microsoft in 2005.

Over the years, she played a key role in transforming treasury into a strategic function and advancing financial technology within the company. In the podcast, Ms. Mehra discusses how treasury’s purpose has expanded beyond traditional risk management to actively supporting business growth.

She also shares how technology—including AI—is changing finance and why human decision-making remains essential. “I see technology as an integral part of any function, including treasury. To me, it’s a medium,” she says.

“The way I look at Gen AI is the same way I looked at Power BI: it’s freeing up the analysts on my team so they can then look at what this means for the business and they can help me.”

The power of networks. Throughout her career, Ms. Mehra leaned on mentors and peer groups, including NeuGroup for Tech Treasurers (then known as Tech20) to exchange knowledge and support other finance leaders—particularly women and people of color. She describes Microsoft’s culture of inclusion and why building strong, trusted communities is key to professional and personal growth.

“You need to help others and you need help from them to be successful and to get anything done,” she tells Mr. Neu. “So it’s those relationships that I cherish: whether it’s through my peers that I’ve met through NeuGroup, my team members or my extended network at Microsoft and the industry.”