Steven Sinofsky, the president of Microsoft’s Windows division who recently led conferences where the company showcased its most important products of the year – Windows 8 and the Surface tablet, is leaving Microsoft.
The reason for his departure has not been disclosed, but it was stated that the decision was mutual, and they thanked him for everything he has done so far. They announced that his position will be taken over by Julie Larson-Green and Tami Reller. Julie Larson-Green has been with Microsoft since 1993 and will be responsible for the engineering side of the Windows department (software and hardware), while Tami Reller (with the company since 2001) will be the director of marketing and finance for the Windows department. Larson-Green and Reller report directly to Steve Ballmer, and the mentioned management changes take effect immediately, Microsoft stated.
However, the media immediately began speculating about the reasons for his departure, suggesting that he was not a team player and comparing him to Scott Forstall, who recently left Apple.
Sinofsky has been with Microsoft since 1989, and he took over the Windows department in 2009 after working for a long time on the development of Office.
Steve Ballmer thanked him for his work at the company and noted that Microsoft, with products like Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Surface, and others, has now entered a new era and will continue with ‘integrated and even faster development cycles’ for their products in the future.
– This is shocking news. It is a big surprise – commented Brendan Barnicle from the analytical company Pacific Crest Securities to BBC reporters, adding that many analysts believed that Sinofsky could replace Ballmer in the future and become the CEO of Microsoft.
