Currently senior vice president and general counsel for law and corporate affairs for Microsoft Corp., Mr. Smith joined the company in 1993 as head of legal and corporate affairs in Europe, after working for Covington & Burling in its Washington, D.C., and London offices.

“Microsoft files several thousand lawsuits in more than 75 countries every year combating piracy and counterfeiting of our products,” says Mr. Smith, who also works with foreign governments to investigate organized crime groups distributing counterfeit software and develop laws to address the problem. The company donates to charity half the money it recovers from these efforts—about $10 million a year—which supports access to technology as well as research and education at leading institutions such as Columbia Law School.

“People who would never dream of stealing physical property are stealing intellectual property without even thinking about it,” he says.