14 DAY TRIAL // Rumors have once again proved to be true, with Microsoft today officially announcing that Peggy Johnson, a former Qualcomm executive, is joining the company to head global business development.
As part of her new role as vice president of Business Development, Johnson will report directly to Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella and will be in charge of strategic business deals and partnership “across various industries with key customers, strategic innovation partners, OEMs, key accounts, third-party publishers and industry influencers,” as Microsoft says in today’s announcement.
Just as expected, Satya Nadella has praised this new appointment and has welcomed Johnson to the team, explaining that the former Qualcomm executive has what it takes to support the company as it continues its transition towards a mobile-first, cloud-first approach started by the new CEO in February, when he took over from Steve Ballmer.
“Peggy shares our worldview and knows what it takes to drive new growth in mobility and the cloud,” Nadella has said. “Her experience uniquely positions her to lead Microsoft’s business development efforts, and she will be a great addition to our senior leadership team.”
Before joining Microsoft, Peggy Johnson worked as executive vice president of Qualcomm Technologies and president of global market development, where she was responsible for commercializing new business opportunities and developing strategic relationships.
She also had several other positions within Qualcomm, including leadership roles in engineering, sales, marketing and business development. As far as her resume is concerned, Johnson has a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the San Diego State University.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Microsoft at such a pivotal time for the company and the industry,” Johnson said. “The opportunity to build new and surprising partnerships to help Microsoft succeed in a mobile-first, cloud-first world is truly exciting, and I look forward to leading these efforts.”
There’s no doubt that Johnson’s appointment is part of Nadella’s plans to push Microsoft more to the mobile industry, as the new CEO is trying to reorganize the company and set it apart from the devices and services approach introduced by former boss Steve Ballmer.
As part of this reorganization, Nadella has recently announced a job cut impacting 18,000 people, many of which are coming from the newly purchased Nokia Devices and Services unit. Nadella however is still looking for skilled executives that could help the transition to this new approach, so Johnson’s appointment is clearly part of a broader plan that could include the hiring of well-known figures from either partners or even rival companies.