As Microsoft divides responsibilities of VP Rajesh Jha, who has been with the company for 35-plus years; here’s who gets what
Microsoft’s head of experiences and devices unit, Rajesh Jha, announced his retirement in March. Now, the software giant is reportedly reorganising leadership responsibilities after Jha’s decision to leave the company after 35 years. This restructuring will reassign key Microsoft divisions, including Windows, Office, Microsoft 365, and Copilot, to several senior leaders at the company, according to The Verge. The change is said to be part of a wider internal shake-up that is aimed at aligning product groups more closely with Microsoft’s shifting focus on AI, cloud, and productivity tools. The report added that the changes will be phased in with several executives reporting directly to CEO Satya Nadella later this year.
Microsoft’s responsibility shuffle: Here’s who gets what role
As part of the reshuffle, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky will take on expanded responsibilities with the Microsoft Teams organisation, now reporting to him. He will lead a newly formed Work Experiences Group, adding to his existing responsibilities overseeing LinkedIn and Office-related functions.An internal memo seen by The Verge states that Charles Lamanna, who has risen quickly through the ranks at Microsoft, will lead the Copilot, Agents, and Platform (CAP) team. His expanded portfolio will include Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 services, BizChat, and other platform components. The Microsoft 365 Core team, OneDrive and SharePoint (ODSP), and Data Platform and Growth (DPG) will also move under Lamanna’s leadership. Moreover, senior executives, including Jeff Teper and Kirk Koenigsbauer, will report to Lamanna. Teper will serve as executive vice president of apps and agents, while Koenigsbauer will take on the role of president of Data Platform and Growth.Pavan Davuluri will continue to lead the Windows and Devices Group. The Intentional Software team, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2017, will now report to him. This includes Charles Simonyi, who founded Intentional Software in 2002 and previously spent more than two decades at Microsoft working on products such as Excel and Word.Perry Clarke has been appointed CTO of Application Systems after nearly a decade leading Microsoft 365 Core. His new role “will focus on the overall systems architecture across M365 and Copilot, and how that composes efficiently with model families, Azure cloud, and silicon,” according to a memo from Jha.Lamanna also acknowledged Clarke’s contribution in the memo, stating, “The bar they’ve set for engineering rigour and customer obsession laid the foundation for the next generation of AI products and capabilities.”The restructuring is said to take effect this week, with Roslansky, Lamanna, Davuluri, and Clarke reporting directly to Nadella upon Jha’s departure.Meanwhile, Microsoft is planning to implement a voluntary retirement program for its US-based employees. This plan would enable those with a combined age and service of 70 or more to apply. More information regarding the process will be shared within the organisation.