WATERLOO - The president of Microsoft's business division, Stephen Elop, will visit the University of Waterloo this week to give a special public talk about the future of technology and innovation.

The event, open to students and faculty, will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Humanities Theatre, J. G. Hagey Hall of the Humanities. All those in attendance will be entered in a draw for an Xbox 360 gift pack.

"Stephen Elop's visit as part of a tour of select campuses confirms that the University of Waterloo is the source for bright young talent," said Peggy Jarvie, executive director of co-operative education and career services. "Our students are among the best and brightest in the world, our faculty and programs are first-class, and our innovative and entrepreneurial style and approach to education and research serve as a model worldwide."

As president of the Microsoft business division, Elop oversees the information worker, Microsoft business solutions and unified communications groups.

The business division is responsible for the Microsoft Office system of programs, servers and software-based services; Microsoft Dynamics, business applications for small and midsize businesses, large organizations and divisions of global enterprises; and Microsoft's unified communications, products that provide software-based communications tools to business.

Elop joined Microsoft in January 2008 and is a member of the company's senior leadership team that sets overall strategy and direction for Microsoft. He earned a bachelor's degree in computer engineering and management from McMaster University.