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Microsoft management shakeup sees Stephen Elop depart

by Mark Tyson on 18 June 2015, 11:11

Tags: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Surface, Windows 10

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There's been a high level management reshuffle at Microsoft resulting in the departure of ex-Nokia boss Stephen Elop. Before the elevation of Satya Nadella to the CEO position Elop was seen as a strong candidate for the top job.

Mr Nadella wrote an open letter to employees yesterday, outlining the organisational changes and the reasons behind them. He said that he wants Microsoft products and services to empower every person and every organization in the world to become more productive. "To better align our capabilities and, ultimately, deliver better products and services our customers love at a more rapid pace, I have decided to organize our engineering effort into three groups that work together to deliver on our strategy and ambitions," wrote the CEO. The three groups will look after Windows and Devices (WDG), Cloud and Enterprise (C+E), and Applications and Services (ASG).

As Elop leaves Microsoft, the corporate structure will change with immediate effect. Mr Elop headed up the Microsoft Devices Group (MDG) which oversaw Microsoft's branded mobile and computing hardware. The new Windows and Devices Group (WDG) has been formed to combine the previous MDG with the current Operating Systems Group (OSG) that is responsible for Windows across all platforms.

Terry Myerson seems to be the biggest winner in the reshuffle. In what seems like a promotion he will lead the newly formed WDG. According to the CEO's letter to employees, this will enable Microsoft's vision of "a more personal computing experience powered by the Windows ecosystem". The united team, in control of hardware and software for Windows devices, is expected to help "drive breakthrough innovations that will propel the Windows ecosystem forward". Such a united and powerful team will be able to push ahead with innovations more rigorously – but could equally propel them to make more spectacular mistakes. Time will tell.

The Microsoft CEO's full letter to employees, containing further details of the dramatic reshuffle, is available here.

HEXUS Forums :: 7 Comments

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Posted by azrael- - Thu 18 Jun 2015 12:00
One wonders where Mr Elop will turn up next. That is, which company might Microsoft be targeting for a cheap takeover next. ;)
Posted by crossy - Thu 18 Jun 2015 12:21
azrael-
One wonders where Mr Elop will turn up next. That is, which company might Microsoft be targeting for a cheap takeover next. ;)
How about HTC? They seemed to be in a similar setup to Nokia (make Windows phones, couple of Android ones, the odd tablet). Although - being rude - I don't think HTC will need the kind of “care” that Nokia did in order to downsize and roll them into the Microsoft juggernaut.

Kind of expected something like this - summer seems to be the time that US corps like to shake themselves up (and lose a lot of staff in the process).

By the way, why is the "Cloud & Enterprise group“ setup as ”C+E“ rather than ”CEG“. After all ”Windows & Devices group“ is ”WDG“, the ”Applications and Services group“ is ”ASG". Also kind of strange that ‘Enterprise’ and ‘Services’ are in different groups - I would have expected them to be in the same group and perhaps cloud and apps to be put together
Posted by chrestomanci - Thu 18 Jun 2015 15:34
azrael-
One wonders where Mr Elop will turn up next. That is, which company might Microsoft be targeting for a cheap takeover next. ;)

With his reputation, I can't imagine any other company would be that foolish.

There is a lengthy blog post out there that spells out all of Elop's criminal miss-mangement of Nokia:

http://communities-dominate.blogs.com/brands/2012/07/the-sun-tzu-of-nokisoftian-microkia-mirror-mirror-on-the-wall-whose-the-baddest-of-them-all-waterloo.html

It is long, and covers a lot of points, but the short version is that some of his actions went beyond stupidity, into deliberately harming Nokia for the benefit of Microsoft. I still can't believe that the authorities in Finland (or even in New York) have not indicted him for the way he deliberately run the company into the ground so that Microsoft could buy it cheaply.
Posted by GuidoLS - Thu 18 Jun 2015 19:31
crossy
How about HTC? They seemed to be in a similar setup to Nokia (make Windows phones, couple of Android ones, the odd tablet). Although - being rude - I don't think HTC will need the kind of “care” that Nokia did in order to downsize and roll them into the Microsoft juggernaut.


If Nokia hadn't of gotten the ‘care’ afforded by MS, then instead of just discussing some news reports about the dismissal of Mr. Elop, we'd be not talking about the total failure, bankruptcy, and dismissal of thousands of employees worldwide. Granted, Nokia made a fair product, but they didn't, and still don't, have the cache of, say, Blackberry, which is surviving despite itself.

Simple truth is, MS doesn't traditionally reward what it considers mediocrity. Windows phone? Good devices, decent OS, not even mediocre sales. Surface line? Again, not even mediocre sales. Not entirely sure a change of face will offer a fix for the perceived problem, but it will allow them to remove an executive from an absorbed company that maybe didn't fit in with Mr. Nadella's view of today, tomorrow or the distant future. The only reason we're seeing this is because it's MS.
Posted by tribaljet - Thu 18 Jun 2015 20:19
Now that Nokia was bought, he'll be putting on his villain cape and flying to less green pastures. And yes, Symbian is dead, long live Symbian.

But I do have to say Windows Phone is a joy to use in terms of resource usage, overall smoothness from budget to flagship and especially imaging on Lumia phones, just a shame that while the store had big strides in the last year, it still has plenty of catching up to do.

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