Parisa Zander

If Parisa Zander weren’t in charge of worldwide visual merchandising for a well-known software giant, she would probably own her own clothing store. Not that she’s one to sketch an eveningwear collection or pick up a needle and create a half-loop topstitch. But as a confident member of the fashion police, she says she knows what does and doesn’t look good on people – a Pacific Northwest version of Stacy from TLC’s “What Not to Wear.” Which, no surprise, happens to be one of her favorite shows.

Zander lives in Seattle, a place where glam once took a backseat to grunge. Though much trendier now, the Emerald City has yet to embrace her bargain favorites like H&M, Uniqlo and Zara. “Every time I travel to New York, I bring an extra bag,” she says.

And thanks to an extensive visual career, she has traveled a lot. Her career path began at a small ad agency creating full-scale ad campaigns and eventually transitioned into casual game marketing and then educational game marketing at Sierra Online and Humongous Entertainment. In 2001, she joined Microsoft’s channel marketing department.

Remember the launch of the first Xbox? If you waited in line to get one, it was in part due to Zander’s work with retailers like Wal-Mart and Toys “R” Us to bring the brand to life. She now leads visual merchandising for all Microsoft products worldwide and recently headed up the Windows Vista and Office 2007 launch.

What was the most memorable thing about meeting Bill Gates for the first time?

It was our first Xbox launch event at Toys “R” Us New York. I had been with the company about seven months, and was working as a channel marketing manager on the account. Bill Gates was doing a walk-through, and I was trying to take pictures of him, but our sales manager, Bill Arkwright, kept getting in the shot. So I was screaming, “Bill, move, move.” Bill Gates thought I was talking to him. I thought I was going to be fired for being such an idiot. Thank goodness one of my friends jumped in and said, “Mr. Gates, we’re from the retail team. Do you mind if we take a photo with you?” In less than 15 seconds, we had seven bodies perfectly aligned for the photo op.

What lesson do you carry with you from your first job?

Don’t give the consumer an opportunity to say, “so what?” If you’re going to take a consumer’s time to watch an ad or read a piece of in-store marketing, you’d better have something good to say.

Which movies turn on the tears?

“Shawshank Redemption” and “Braveheart.” Serious bawl baby, every time.

What do you sing when you know you’re alone?

I am a child of the 80s, so I can bust out a great version of “Message in a Bottle” and “Tainted Love.”

The iPod versus the Zune. Give us your pitch: Why will Zune win that battle?

Simply said, sharing. People like to share experiences, and that’s the backbone of Zune. Share music (three days or three plays), share videos and share pictures…and do it all wirelessly.

What’s it like working in an office that’s always on the brink of new technology?

It’s amazing. I can work remotely from home, I can stay in touch with things on the go and I’m never far away from company support.

Vista launch: A walk in the park? Or walking on hot coals?

It was 18 months of blood, sweat and tears. Lots of hours working back and forth with not only our subsidiaries, but also our retailers and vendors, bringing the “one Microsoft” look and feel to life. But it was worth it.

Where’s your favorite place to shop?

Target. When I shop there (which is about once a week), I easily spend over $100.

So what is “style” to you?

It’s all about what makes you feel good. I’m a big fan of nice, tailored clothes and clothing that is age-appropriate. And there are too many men with pleated pants out there. Do they not understand that it adds, like, 10 pounds?

What would you do on a spontaneous day off from work?

Well, I am relatively high-maintenance, so I would say, spa, spa, spa.

The one thing you cannot live without is…

I have two: my family and my Chi flat iron.

Finish this sentence: “If only I knew then what I know now…”

I wouldn’t have taken myself so seriously and I would have learned to read and write Farsi, my native language.