Chance Furlong
2011-01-23 05:49:19 UTC
From Apple Insider:
http://tinyurl.com/5tlbr2y
Cuss and discuss.
Mass exodus of executives continues at Microsoft
By Daniel Eran Dilger
Published: 08:00 PM EST
Thursday, January 20, 2011
While Google's senior management reshuffles, Microsoft appears to be
folding its entire hand of face card executives and core engineers.
Juniper Networks announced today that it had recruited Brad Brooks, an
eight year Microsoft veteran who had managed the marketing of Windows
Vista and Windows 7.
In a late 2008 interview with Newsweek Brooks insisted, "nobody here
looks at Vista as a fiasco," and went on to say that 89 percent of users
asked Vista said they were satisfied or very satisfied. Microsoft didn't
fire Brooks or ask him to leave however; he took the Juniper job on his
on volition.
Brooks' departure marks the third high profile figure to leave the
company this week, joining Johnny Chung Lee, credited with the
development of the company's fast selling Kinect motion sensing add on
for Xbox 360, who left for Google, and Matt Miszewski, Microsoft's
general manager of worldwide government, who exited for Salesforce.com.
A week ago, Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer announced plans to
replace Bob Muglia, the company's head of its Servers & Tools Business
division. Microsoft also lost Chris Liddell, its chief financial
officer, at the end of 2010.
Since the beginning of its winter quarter, Microsoft has also lost or
dismissed at least four other top executives, including Xbox and Zune
leader J Allard, Entertainment & Devices Division head Robbie Bach,
Business Division head Stephen Elop (who left his Office job to become
Nokia's chief executive), as well as chief software architect Ray Ozzie
(who had joined Microsoft in 2005 to take over the vision role of Bill
Gates, and who was supposed to be holding the company’s divisions
together in a coordinating role).
In 2008, Microsoft's Platforms & Services Division president Kevin
Johnson abruptly left for Juniper Networks, disrupting its Bing strategy
and prompting the company to reconfigure the division into separate
Windows and Online Services groups as it attempted to purchase Yahoo.
That same year the company also announced the resignation of Jeff
Raikes, who had left Apple to joint Microsoft in the early 80s. Raikes
was one of the company's longest running executives, and oversaw the
development of Office. After his departure, Microsoft split the Business
Division Raikes managed into Server & Tools, managed by Muglia, and a
new Office-centric Business Division run by Elop, both of whom have also
now left the company.
Thousands laid off, billion dollar questions
These departures only count high level executives; in 2009, Microsoft's
broad layoffs included the director of business development for its
Emerging Business Team, Don Dodge, who has since started working for Google.
"Thousands of employees have been laid off or fired [from Microsoft]
over the past two years," Dodge wrote in his blog.
Referencing the exodus of high level managers, Dodge wrote, "but these
guys are the highest level execs at Microsoft, all of whom reported to
CEO Steve Ballmer. Is it possible that the presidents of all these
divisions messed up so badly in the past 9 months that they were asked
to leave? Given the reported financial results this seems inconceivable.
There is something else going on here.
"Losing a seasoned exec like Bob Muglia is a big, but recoverable loss."
Dodge noted. "Losing Muglia, Robbie Bach, Steve Elop, Ray Ozzie, Chris
Liddell, Kevin Johnson, Jeff Raikes, and other senior execs is
devastating. The effects aren't visible yet. It takes years to unfold.
Each individual business division will get a new leader, and revenues
will continue to chug along.
"But, who will be the visionary for the future? And, who will be ready
to step in as CEO when Ballmer leaves? Those are billion dollar questions."
http://tinyurl.com/5tlbr2y
Cuss and discuss.
Mass exodus of executives continues at Microsoft
By Daniel Eran Dilger
Published: 08:00 PM EST
Thursday, January 20, 2011
While Google's senior management reshuffles, Microsoft appears to be
folding its entire hand of face card executives and core engineers.
Juniper Networks announced today that it had recruited Brad Brooks, an
eight year Microsoft veteran who had managed the marketing of Windows
Vista and Windows 7.
In a late 2008 interview with Newsweek Brooks insisted, "nobody here
looks at Vista as a fiasco," and went on to say that 89 percent of users
asked Vista said they were satisfied or very satisfied. Microsoft didn't
fire Brooks or ask him to leave however; he took the Juniper job on his
on volition.
Brooks' departure marks the third high profile figure to leave the
company this week, joining Johnny Chung Lee, credited with the
development of the company's fast selling Kinect motion sensing add on
for Xbox 360, who left for Google, and Matt Miszewski, Microsoft's
general manager of worldwide government, who exited for Salesforce.com.
A week ago, Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer announced plans to
replace Bob Muglia, the company's head of its Servers & Tools Business
division. Microsoft also lost Chris Liddell, its chief financial
officer, at the end of 2010.
Since the beginning of its winter quarter, Microsoft has also lost or
dismissed at least four other top executives, including Xbox and Zune
leader J Allard, Entertainment & Devices Division head Robbie Bach,
Business Division head Stephen Elop (who left his Office job to become
Nokia's chief executive), as well as chief software architect Ray Ozzie
(who had joined Microsoft in 2005 to take over the vision role of Bill
Gates, and who was supposed to be holding the company’s divisions
together in a coordinating role).
In 2008, Microsoft's Platforms & Services Division president Kevin
Johnson abruptly left for Juniper Networks, disrupting its Bing strategy
and prompting the company to reconfigure the division into separate
Windows and Online Services groups as it attempted to purchase Yahoo.
That same year the company also announced the resignation of Jeff
Raikes, who had left Apple to joint Microsoft in the early 80s. Raikes
was one of the company's longest running executives, and oversaw the
development of Office. After his departure, Microsoft split the Business
Division Raikes managed into Server & Tools, managed by Muglia, and a
new Office-centric Business Division run by Elop, both of whom have also
now left the company.
Thousands laid off, billion dollar questions
These departures only count high level executives; in 2009, Microsoft's
broad layoffs included the director of business development for its
Emerging Business Team, Don Dodge, who has since started working for Google.
"Thousands of employees have been laid off or fired [from Microsoft]
over the past two years," Dodge wrote in his blog.
Referencing the exodus of high level managers, Dodge wrote, "but these
guys are the highest level execs at Microsoft, all of whom reported to
CEO Steve Ballmer. Is it possible that the presidents of all these
divisions messed up so badly in the past 9 months that they were asked
to leave? Given the reported financial results this seems inconceivable.
There is something else going on here.
"Losing a seasoned exec like Bob Muglia is a big, but recoverable loss."
Dodge noted. "Losing Muglia, Robbie Bach, Steve Elop, Ray Ozzie, Chris
Liddell, Kevin Johnson, Jeff Raikes, and other senior execs is
devastating. The effects aren't visible yet. It takes years to unfold.
Each individual business division will get a new leader, and revenues
will continue to chug along.
"But, who will be the visionary for the future? And, who will be ready
to step in as CEO when Ballmer leaves? Those are billion dollar questions."