Leighton Searle

Leighton Searle is the Chief Executive Officer of Cloud Direct. They previously served in multiple roles at Microsoft, including Head of Data and AI for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (2024–2025), and Director of Azure Solutions UK, as well as Worldwide Head of CDO Advisors (GBB). Earlier in their career, they were the UK CTM Lead at Microsoft (2015–2016) and held various sales and government/education-focused roles there. They started their career as a Business Development Manager at Magna Infotech (2000–2001) and as Strategic Partnerships Account Manager at RM Education (2001–2007). They earned a BSc in Business Administration from Cardiff University (1997–2000).