“Windows unit president Steven Sinofsky is leaving the company, effective immediately,” Ina Fried reports for AllThingsD.
“The move comes less than a month after Sinofsky presided over the launch of Windows 8 and Microsoft’s Surface tablet–products seen as key to the future if the PC software pioneer is to retain its position amid a market increasingly dominated by phones and tablets,” Fried reports. “Sources have said the move came amid growing tension between Sinofsky and other top executives. Sinofsky, though seen as highly talented, was viewed at the top levels as not the kind of team player that the company was looking for. The move is likened by some to the recent ouster at Apple of iOS head Scott Forstall.”
Read more in the full article here.
Microsoft Corp.’s press release, verbatim:
Microsoft Announces Leadership Changes to Drive Next Wave of Products
Steven Sinofsky to leave the company; Windows executives Julie Larson-Green and Tami Reller take expanded roles.
Microsoft Corp. today announced that Windows and Windows Live President Steven Sinofsky will be leaving the company and that Julie Larson-Green will be promoted to lead all Windows software and hardware engineering. Tami Reller retains her roles as chief financial officer and chief marketing officer and will assume responsibility for the business of Windows. Both executives will report directly to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
These changes are effective immediately.
“I am grateful for the many years of work that Steven has contributed to the company,” Ballmer said. “The products and services we have delivered to the market in the past few months mark the launch of a new era at Microsoft. We’ve built an incredible foundation with new releases of Microsoft Office, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Microsoft Surface, Windows Server 2012 and ‘Halo 4,’ and great integration of services such as Bing, Skype and Xbox across all our products. To continue this success it is imperative that we continue to drive alignment across all Microsoft teams, and have more integrated and rapid development cycles for our offerings.”
“It is impossible to count the blessings I have received over my years at Microsoft. I am humbled by the professionalism and generosity of everyone I have had the good fortune to work with at this awesome company,” Sinofsky said.
Since 1993, Larson-Green has worked on and led some of the most successful products for Microsoft, including the user experiences for early versions of Internet Explorer, and helped drive the thinking behind the refresh of the user experience for Microsoft Office. For Windows 7 and Windows 8 she was responsible for program management, user interface design and research, as well as development of all international releases. She has a master’s degree in software engineering from Seattle University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western Washington University. In her new role she will be responsible for all future Windows product development in addition to future hardware opportunities.
“Leading Windows engineering is an incredible challenge and opportunity, and as I looked at the technical and business skills required to continue our Windows trajectory — great communication skills, a proven ability to work across product groups, strong design, deep technical expertise, and a history of anticipating and meeting customer needs — it was clear to me that Julie is the best possible person for this job, and I’m excited to have her in this role,” Ballmer said.
Reller joined Windows in 2007 from the Microsoft Dynamics Division where she held a number of leadership positions. She began her career in technology at Great Plains Software in 1984 while still in college, and was the company’s chief financial officer at the time the company was acquired by Microsoft in 2001. She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Minnesota State University Moorhead and an MBA from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif. In her expanded role she will assume the lead in driving business and marketing strategy for Windows devices, including Surface and partner devices, in addition to her current marketing and finance responsibilities.
Source: Microsoft Corporation
MacDailyNews Take: Microsoft. Still copying Apple with pathological zeal. Next up: Microsoft Maps complete with melting bridges and empty Liberty Islands.
Anyway, bottom line, whatever. Surface is garbage with a kickstand and sucks just like Windows always has; somebody had to take the fall. Buh-bye, Great Gazoo.
Now, will Wall Street sell off Microsoft by 25%, too, and cause it to drop by a whopping seven bucks?
Related article:
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sorry, but just based on their qualifications as stated, the 2 new people with “expanded roles” do not seem like the right candidates at all – expect less from Microsoft in the future – sorry Bill, people with no track record and no real credentials or spark and who have just been inside the Microsoft dome for a while will not get you where you want to be
At least Ballmer is still around. Let’s hope that it stays that way!
No more Great Gazoo?
I Like Ballmer’s strategy,. I like it alot. May Steve Ballmer remain CEO for as long as it takes.
Wow. That brought “Mini Microsoft” out of hiding. He hadn’t posted a word in four months.
——RM
Wall Street won’t sell off Microsoft until after the holiday sales reports are in.
… and you know darn well that Tech investors hedge bets against Apple’s over-weighting its presence in consumer markets by buying safe reliable MSFT stock, which dominates corporate IT. They see it as a very safe place to park money while Apple tries to decide if it wants to sell computers to for-profit enterprises.
oh, and as sucky as Windows 8 is, you know that there are legions of geeks who will buy it just because it’s the new version. not unlike the legions of Mac-heads who jumped on OSX 10.7 and 10.8 only to find that both versions were long on bloat, short on productivity and efficiency.