Bradford Lee Smith[1] (born January 17, 1959)[2] is an American attorney and business executive who became vice chairman of Microsoft in 2021, and president in 2015.

[4] Smith's application for the general counsel position in late 2001 included a PowerPoint presentation of a single slide that said: "time to make peace."

[4] He led negotiations to settle cases with several of Microsoft's competitors, including AOL Time-Warner, Sun Microsystems, and Be Inc., paying $5 billion to plaintiffs, aiming for win-win resolutions, and garnering praise from their chief counsels.

[4][6][10] Smith also oversaw negotiations with the European Commission over antitrust accusations, meeting foreign leaders, lobbying, and settling most issues in 2010.

[6] Internally, Smith pushed for diversity within the company's legal division, making executive bonuses dependent on Microsoft and associated law firms' increasing employment of racial minority, women, and LGBT employees, and committing pro bono hours for immigrants.

[14] By 2014, Smith was the longest running member of Microsoft's top leadership, and considered "a de facto ambassador for the technology industry at large,"[15] winning plaudits for diplomacy from State Department officials like Anne-Marie Slaughter and Stuart Eizenstat.

[6] He filed four different lawsuits defending customer data against the US government from 2013 to 2016[16] and was a noted supporter of Apple Inc. when the FBI demanded access to a locked iPhone.

[18] Within three months in his new position, Smith announced the launch of Microsoft Philanthropies, a branch of the company dedicated to donating money and services to the public good.

[21] He asked the Trump administration for an exception to its travel ban[22] and said Microsoft would defend its employees affected by the revocation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

[38] KIND provides pro bono free legal support to unaccompanied immigrant children who are facing deportation in eight of the largest US cities.

[41][42] Smith is chairman of the board of and helped create the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship which gives grants to low- and middle-income students earning bachelor's degrees in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and health care.