Big changes are coming to Redmond.
Microsoft on Thursday announced a major reorganization that will see the company focus a large portion of its operation on two main divisions: “Experiences & Devices” and “Cloud + AI.” Additionally, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that long-time Windows chief Terry Myerson will be leaving the company after the reorganization is complete.
“I want to thank Terry for his leadership on my team and across Microsoft,” Nadella said in an e-mail to Microsoft employees on Thursday. He said that Myerson played an “instrumental” role in developing the new organizational structure.
Myerson’s pending departure could stun some inside Redmond, who remember the Microsoft executive as one of the company’s most powerful and influential leaders. Myerson has been at Microsoft for decades, where he’s led the company’s Windows and Devices Group. He was also instrumental in reinventing Microsoft’s ailing Windows Mobile division and over the last several years, has played a prominent role in the development of everything from Windows 10 to Xbox. Before Nadella was hired as Microsoft’s CEO, Myerson’s name was floated as a possible replacement for former chief executive Steve Ballmer.
Nadella didn’t say when Myerson would officially leave, but in a memo on LinkedIn, Myerson said it would be coming “in a few months.”
“Satya and I have been discussing this for some time,” Myerson wrote, “but today it becomes real.”
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The newly formed Experiences & Devices division will be led by Microsoft executive vice president Rajesh Jha. In the e-mail to employees, Nadella said that Jha’s division will be tasked with creating a “unifying product ethos” across Microsoft’s growing list of devices. It’ll also oversee Windows development and Microsoft’s mobile products, among other divisions.
Nadella announced that a variety of executives within those divisions have also been given new job descriptions. Panos Panay, who previously served as vice president of Microsoft’s Devices division, will now serve as Chief Product Officer for all hardware. Joe Belfiore, Microsoft’s vice president of operating systems, will head up the company’s Windows division.
The second major division, Cloud + AI, will be led by Microsoft executive vice president of the cloud and enterprise Scott Guthrie, Nadella announced. His division will include a variety of businesses inside Microsoft, including its Azure cloud service, the company’s e-commerce services, and all of its artificial intelligence efforts.
A third engineering team focused on artificial intelligence and research will live on under the current leadership of executive vice president Harry Shum.
Nadella told employees that the Microsoft reorganization will likely take months to complete. He plans to hold question-and-answer sessions with staff next week.