Dr. Marcia Ruben, Assistant Professor and Chair of GGU’s Graduate Management Program, speaks with Robert Patterson—an MS Taxation alumnus and Director and Worldwide Tax & Trade Controller at Microsoft—about his life and career.
Robert (MST ’04), has enjoyed a storied career as a tax practitioner. Currently, he serves as a Microsoft director, ensuring internal control over financial reporting across all functional tax and trade areas. Previously, Robert worked on initiatives related to global and domestic tax compliance and policies with the Big Four accounting firms, multinational companies Walmart and American Express, and the state of Kansas where he helped draft tax legislation. Throughout his career, Robert has taken bold risks—that sometimes raised eyebrows—and carved a unique path. He takes inspiration from his parents who moved their family from post-segregation Alabama to Alaska following his mother’s participation in the Selma, Alabama Bloody Sunday protest and enrollment in an Alabama community college amid aggressive discrimination. Their values of determination, diligence, and preparation have served him well.
Robert earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Pacific Lutheran University and over the course of his career he earned an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Morehead State University, Master of Science in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, Master of Science in Taxation from Golden Gate University, Graduate Certificate in State & Local Taxation from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and he completed coursework in law at Washburn University’s School of Law.