Marcus Mitchell, an engineering director at Google, received the Visionary Award at the 2025 BEYA STEM Conference.
During his introduction, Brian Stewart, executive senior director for global logistics operations at Google, expressed his honor in presenting at the 39th annual BEYA STEM Conference.
"Tonight, we celebrate excellence, hard work, and the innovative breakthroughs of the award recipients here. As we look to the future of BEYA, it is my honor to recognize an individual whose visionary thinking and innovation embody the spirit of this conference. With great pride, I announce the recipient of this year's Visionary Award: Dr. Marcus Mitchell."
As a senior engineer at Google, Dr. Mitchell has consistently demonstrated innovation.
He leads the Site Reliability Engineering for core products, showcasing his ability to manage complex technical issues and ensure the dependability of Google systems.
He has also optimized operations by automating Google’s supply chains. He has advanced digital commerce by focusing on payment products like Google Wallet, enabling millions of users to access digital content seamlessly.
In line with BEYA's mission, Dr. Mitchell is a dedicated advocate for diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
He actively works to create pathways for individuals interested in tech careers.
In his acceptance speech, he commented, "When you ask a large language model like Gemini to write a 100-word acceptance speech, it generates phrases like 'incredible honor,' 'deeply grateful,' and a 'brighter future,' which are quite good. But the fact that it can come up with anything is mind-blowing."
Reflecting on his career, Mitchell added, "In the late '80s, I envisioned computers that could think like people. Many ideas behind today's AI advancements were present then, but it has taken decades of persistence to realize that vision. I'm happy to be along for the ride at Google, and I want to thank BEYA for the recognition."
With over 18 years at Google, Mitchell’s passion for technology has driven the business forward.
He has played a pivotal role in developing various technologies at the company.
Alongside his work, he inspires young minds by engaging with students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and local high schools. He even hosts Lego contests at Google's Manhattan office to introduce students to the exciting possibilities of technology.
His previous roles include automating supply chains for data centers and consumer electronics, developing ads and commerce products such as the payments platform for the Google Play Store, and contributing to Google.org projects in New York, including the Crisis Response team and advancements in web history, personalization, recommendations, and infrastructure.
Additionally, he serves on the board of a program connecting young men to the tech industry. Listen from the 2:07 mark.