Male Allyship

Birlie has 20 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry. He joined Chevron in the Gulf of Mexico in 2001 as a Drilling Representative in Deepwater and Shelf assets. He spent the first 8 years of his career in production, reservoir and operations roles in the Shelf and Deepwater mature assets and large projects in New Orleans and Houston.

Subsequent assignments have continued to broaden his enterprise experience: asset leadership as the Trinidad Asset Manager in South America and Project Manager in California; technology exposure as the Digital Capabilities Program Manager; and business acumen as Manager of Planning and Strategy in Canada and Strategic Advisor in Corporate Business Development.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As the Director for Corporate Citizenship and Market Development, I lead efforts to establish public-private partnerships, support economic development initiatives, drive civic and start-up innovation, and manage CSR investments and partnerships across commercial, education, government and community engagements throughout the central United States.

For nearly my entire life I have been an avid believer in the power of technology and innovation to shape the world and transform lives. And as the U.S. Citizenship liaison for Microsoft IoT, NASA, and the Managing Campus Director for the Microsoft Las Colinas Campus, I work relentlessly to lead teams that are committed to making an impact across our industry and in the communities we serve.

Developing, launching, and strategically building businesses is the common thread tying together Tom’s 25 years of professional work. Tom started his career practicing law in New York, handling civil litigation as well as mergers & acquisitions. After practicing law for 15+ years, Tom decided to become a “recovering attorney” and founded Indigo Group, LLC on the belief that businesses must drive social impact. Every business or initiative encompassed under Indigo focuses on social entrepreneurially business models that drive social justice.

Tom regularly speaks and facilitates workshops for corporations aiming to advance their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and has recently partnered with the Network of Executive Women’s Beyond Allies program. Tom is an adjunct professor at Paul Quinn College, an HBCU in south Dallas and is a Fellow for the Dallas Economic Leadership Academy through the Aspen Institute. Tom earned his J.D. from the Villanova University School of Law and his B.A. from Colgate University.