14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has appointed a new CEO, but the company is very close to losing two high-profile executives that have been in charge of several important projects in the Ballmer era, according to a new report.
Re/code writes that EVP of business development and evangelism Tony Bates and EVP of marketing Tami Reller are both leaving the company, although no official announcement has been made so far.
According to the report, which cites “numerous sources close to the situation,” the software giant is expected to make the upper management shifts public on Tuesday.
EVP of advanced strategy Eric Rudder is expected to replace Tony Bates temporarily, while marketing executive Chris Capossela will have the same role as Tami Reller, although they will both retain some of their current responsibilities, the report states.
What’s a little bit more surprising is that Tony Bates was one of the executives who were reportedly involved in the CEO race, which makes many wonder whether the appointment of Satya Nadella at the helm of the company is actually the real reason behind his departure.
Tami Reller, on the other hand, was one of the executives that worked with Steve Ballmer, especially after the departure of former Windows boss Steve Sinofsky who left just after the launch of Windows 8. Reller and Julie Larson-Green, who’ll all get a new role within the company, were both promoted to be in charge of Windows division, which at that time was the most important project for Microsoft.
Reller is of course one of the most important female executives for Microsoft, so seeing her go is a bit surprising, especially because she was reporting directly to Satya Nadella.
While it’s not yet clear whether Nadella agreed with the two departures, it turns out that Reller will remain at the company for a little bit longer to help with the transition and thus ensure a smoother replacement for her role.
Tony Bates, on the other hand, will leave immediately, so it’s important for Microsoft to find a proper replacement that could take over all his duties. Re/code writes that Bates “told Nadella he could not make a long-term commitment to the company,” so he was most likely targeting a bigger role for the software giant.
Microsoft has until now refused to comment on all these changes at the helm of the company, but an announcement on the two departures is expected in just a couple of days.