Michael Hrádek is a seasoned technology executive with over 15 years of experience leading global engineering organisations across AI, gaming, SaaS, eCommerce, AR/VR, and large-scale cloud platforms. Currently serving as Head of Engineering for Microsoft’s Cloud + AI for Manufacturing & Mobility, he currently oversees teams of 60+ managers and engineers delivering AI-powered solutions that integrate with Azure, Fabric, and CoPilot Studio. His leadership has driven measurable impact for globally recognised top tier companies, reducing costs, improving quality assurance, and accelerating innovation. Michael combines deep technical expertise in infrastructure and distributed systems with a strong track record of building secure, high-performing products and services used by millions.
Previously, he held senior roles at Microsoft Teams, GroupMe & Skype, The Pokémon Company, Amazon, Disney, and Best Buy, where he led teams of up to 80+ engineers across the U.S., South America, Europe, and India. His work has spanned scaling social networking platforms to tens of millions of users, architecting high-availability gaming services, and pioneering mobile and eCommerce experiences at global scale. A hands-on leader, Michael is known for cultivating high-impact teams, aligning technical strategy with business vision, and driving transformational results in both enterprise and startup environments.
Michael resides in Prague along with his wife and four children. He holds Czech, Polish, and US nationalities and speaks the languages fluently. In his spare time he likes to travel, dabble in music, build health, cook, and enjoy fine things in life.
Highlights
- pioneered AI/ML data services and integrations to transform manufacturing across the globe
- insisted on engineering excellence improving platform reliability on GroupMe from 94% to 99.9% while also increasing MAU from 24M to 39M+
- led team, architected, and launched a multi-tenancy, highly available, highly scalable, distributed micro-services platform across multiple data centers for truly inclusive, global game play supporting 100M+ monthly active users
- brought mobile commerce to Disney parks through Tickets Sales, Photo Pass, Shop Disney, and other highly visible and successful park features
- brought mobile to Disney Cruise Lines by bringing the onboard chat, onboard services, and mobile offline caching to create a stellar experience for cruisers
- built from the ground up Best Buy’s engineering technology center in Seattle establishing mobile, services, test, and project management teams and best practices
- designed and built several client SDKs at several Seattle area startups and companies to promote product adoption and ease services integration
- consistently building and leading strong teams who excel in engineering and continued growth through a best practice driven, servant-leader approach to leadership
Contact
For more information on his previous endeavours, download his resumé, email him at moc.liamg@kedarhm, or check out his LinkedIn profile.