Washington: 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.