Dame Clare Barclay

Dame Clare Barclay DBE is a senior business leader with nearly three decades of experience driving transformation, innovation, and strategic change across industry and government. She served as President of Enterprise & Industry EMEA at Microsoft until 2026, following four years as CEO of Microsoft UK. Across these roles she has led organisation‑wide modernisation, scaled responsible AI adoption, and forged major cross‑sector partnerships that have strengthened productivity and competitiveness across multiple markets. 

Clare serves as Chair of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council to the UK Government, where she leads the council’s work advising government on the development and delivery of the industrial strategy and monitoring progress on its objectives. Her leadership ensures the council’s insights directly inform national policy and support the UK’s future economic growth. Clare is also a Non‑Executive Director at Zilch, a high‑growth fintech innovator. 

She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the King’s Birthday Honours 2025 for services to business, technology, and leadership.