Windows chief Terry Myerson out as Microsoft reorganizes

Nadella said in his e-mail that Microsoft has a “new organizational structure”, which includes two new engineering teams.

Build 17634 was probably already in the can before Microsoft planned to announce Terry Myerson’s departure, but it’ll be interesting to see how the company prioritizes Windows development, treatment of Insider testing and access to engineers in the future.

With change comes restructuring for the company, CEO Satya Nadella wrote in email – with a subject line reading “Embracing our future: Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge” – to employees March 29. Windows 10 has done just fine in the nearly three years since it was released, but PC sales are sluggish at best. Rajesh Jha, who now leads parts of the Office team will head this group. “These modern needs, habits and expectations of our customers are motivating us to bring Windows, Office, and third-party applications and devices into a more cohesive Microsoft 365 experience”. Foley further says Panos Panay will get a Chief Product Officer title but otherwise remains the head of Microsoft devices. The objective of this team is to instill a unifying product ethos across our end-user experiences and devices. Nowadays with Nadella in charge, the company is shifting its focus to other areas, like mobile and cloud computing, in search of additional growth.

“One of the consistent themes that the Dev Center Team hears from the Windows developer community is that first impressions are important”. The Universal Store and Commerce Platform team will join the Cloud + AI Platform team. “In this release, you can launch guides directly from the app homepage, but check back soon for voice entry points”, Microsoft said. Zander’s group will also include Roanne Sones, manager for the Strategy and Ecosystem team, which is responsible for working with Microsoft’s OEMs and silicon vendors.

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Myerson has posted a lengthy blog post over on LinkedIn (owned by Microsoft), where he outlines his successes and struggles over the years.

One other tidbit of information gleaned from Microsoft’s announcement is that the company is establishing an AI and Ethics in Engineering and Research (AETHER) Committee, which will be made up of senior leadership across the company’s various core segments.

The committee will effectively act as a social-responsibility watchdog overseeing Microsoft’s AI efforts.