Desarack (Des) Teso is Director of Government Affairs at Microsoft, leading engagement with governments, regulators, and industry stakeholders across ASEAN (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar) to advance trusted digital transformation, cloud adoption, AI innovation and governance, cybersecurity, and broader digital economy policies.

With almost 30 years of experience across Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Laos), Europe (Spain), and North America (Hawaii), he advises on the intersection of technology, regulation, and public policy, helping governments and organizations navigate complex issues related to AI, privacy, cybersecurity, digital sovereignty, intellectual property, data center, and emerging technologies such as frontier models and quantum computing.

A licensed attorney and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) from Hawaii, Des also holds globally recognized privacy and AI governance credentials from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), including Certified Information Privacy Professional/Asia (CIPP/A), Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E), and Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP).

Des holds a Juris Doctor (JD) and MBA from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (USA) and a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Linfield University (USA), where he also competed as a full tennis scholarship.