'Re/code Decode': EVP Peggy Johnson on the Deals Microsoft Is Making to Secure Its Future

Last summer, Microsoft hired away Qualcomm veteran Peggy Johnson to lead its partnerships and acquisition strategy.

Since joining Microsoft, the company bought the popular calendar app Sunrise and purchased the email service Accompli, using it to relaunch Outlook’s mobile app to rave reviews. Johnson doesn’t just handle acquisitions; as she explains it on this week’s “Re/code Decode” podcast with Kara Swisher, she’s also working to make Microsoft “Silicon Valley’s best friend.”

Johnson’s portfolio is critical, as she leads the process of buying the startups and developing the relationships that will let Microsoft tap into new markets. She’s focused on persuading Silicon Valley that “it’s absolutely a different Microsoft,” selling CEO Satya Nadella’s vision for the company.

Johnson also has to be paying close attention to the acquisition market, and she explains on the podcast why she thinks “there’s a bit of a bubble” in the tech industry and why she’s a big fan of certain startups, including Slack and Uber.

Later on in the episode, The Verge’s Lauren Goode walks through the economics of digital media, and Mark Bergen explains why tech companies care about cars and why car companies care about tech.

If you like what you hear, head over to “Re/code Replay,” an archive of audio content from our events and other interviews like Kara Swisher’s with President Barack Obama and many others by Walt Mossberg, Peter Kafka, Ina Fried and more. We’ve already published about 30 episodes from past events, including all of the Code Conference 2015 sessions, and we’ll be adding more over time.

Every episode for both shows will be available in two places: On our site, at http://recode.net/podcasts, and on Apple iTunes (here for “Re/code Decode” and here for “Re/code Replay”). We’ll also be adding more distributors soon, as well as new episodes weekly. And you can follow @recode for updates on upcoming guests.

If you like what we’re doing, please write a review on iTunes (and, if you don’t, just strafe Kara on Twitter). You can also suggest guests for the show there and we’ll try our best to get them for our Red Chair interview.