Key Microsoft exec exits as clock ticks down on oft-delayed, much pared-down Windows Vista release

“A Microsoft Corp. executive who led Windows Vista’s development is leaving for Amazon.com, with the clock ticking down to the scheduled release of the delayed operating system,” Todd Bishop reports for The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. “Brian Valentine, a Microsoft veteran known for rallying the troops to finish big projects, is due to start work at Amazon as a senior vice president in mid-September.”

“Valentine’s departure comes four months before Windows Vista’s scheduled January retail debut, and Microsoft still needs to work out bugs to complete the massive project in time. In previous Windows versions, Valentine has played a key leadership role in those final stages before release,” Bishop reports.

“In a statement praising Valentine for his 19 years at the company, Microsoft said the Windows Vista project ‘remains on track.’ Valentine’s team is now reporting to Jim Allchin, the co-president of the company’s Platforms & Services Division,” Bishop reports. “Valentine’s last day at Microsoft was Friday.”

“A series of executives have left Microsoft over the past year, but Valentine’s position and long tenure make him particularly noteworthy. Among other things, he was publicly praised by the company as an effective leader in the final stages of Windows 2000 development,” Bishop reports. “He was most recently senior vice president of Microsoft’s Windows Core Operating System Division, a central group responsible for Windows engineering.”

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Leveldown” for the heads up.]

MacDailyNews Take: Over the sides and out the nearest porthole they stream.

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27 Comments

  1. BrooklynNYC,

    “Why would a company hire anyone who has “worked on Vista development” on his/her resume?”

    For the same reason people would/will conitnue to buy Windows – And when you figure that out let the rest of us know.

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