Raised in downtown Atlanta, educated in computer science at the University of Notre Dame, Cedric Strickland has turned a childhood obsession with "how things work" into a career devoted to making technology and opportunity work for everyone.His path runs from Microsoft to Google, from Texas classrooms to a Seattle rooftop solarium, yet the through line remains the same: build with empathy, share knowledge, and leave the door open wider than you found it. Cedric sums up his journey in pairs: Atlanta to Seattle, Microsoft to Google, student to professor, entrepreneur to author. Each step "adds a new lens" to his mission of expanding human potential.Fresh out of Notre Dame, he spent over a decade at Microsoft, leading global programs and products that wove machine-learning into Windows, improving speed, privacy, and reliability for hundreds of millions of users. In 2023 he joined Google, where he guides teams of engineers and product managers as a Staff Product Lead. His focus, privacy-first AI features that simplify work and communication for billions around the globe.Before corporate badges, Cedric spent summers at Texas State's MathWorks camps, teaching high school and college students number theory and combinatorics. In 2023 the University of Washington invited him to design and teach CSS 566: Software Management, a graduate seminar blending agile theory and real-world product design. His creative outlet is Neua Holdings, the innovation studio he founded in 2024. Neua soon sprouted a publishing imprint, launching its debut title, My Black Job: A Story of Black Careers, on Juneteenth 2025. Written, illustrated, and edited by Cedric, the book beautifully portrays "every job is a Black job." Reviewers call it "a vibrant showcase of representation."Away from product roadmaps, Cedric spars at local boxing gyms, samples every food-truck menu he can find, and stuffs carry-on bags with copies of My Black Job to donate wherever he lands. Colleagues praise his habit of letting the quietest voice speak first.What's next? Whether applying AI to sustainability and medicine or sketching his next book, Cedric's goal remains the same: innovation that makes room for everyone!
