The Windows Phone team has been loosing high-rank people lately

Feb 4, 2012 10:56 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft’s Brandon Watson, the head of the Windows Phone Developer Experience, is leaving the company for Amazon.

He announced the move on Twitter, and Microsoft themselves confirmed that he would no longer work for the company starting with the next week.

At Amazon, he will be the Director of the Kindle Cross Platform team, and he will be in charge with the product development roadmap for Kindle apps across platforms.

Among others, the team is also responsible for the development of Kindle apps for the Windows Phone platform, as well as for the upcoming Windows 8 operating system.

“The rumors are true. The team is in great hands. I'll miss working on #wpdev. I will the community, but won't be a stranger,” Brandon Watson announced on Twitter.

According to ZDNet’s Mary-Jo Foley, Watson confirmed the move via email as well, saying that “it was a hard decision, but the opportunity placed in front of me that was too big to pass up.”

Microsoft too confirmed that he would be no longer working with the company as of next week, but did not offer specifics on the matter.

“We can confirm February 6th is Brandon Watson’s last day at Microsoft. Brandon did a great job helping us build a vibrant developer community and we wish him well with his next adventure,” a spokesperson with the Redmond-based company reportedly stated.

For the time being, Microsoft did not announce a replacement for Watson. Most probably, they will unveil details on the matter in the near future.

Microsoft’s Windows Phone team has lost quite a few people lately, including Andy Lees, the head of the Windows Phone Business until December. He was appointed to a position related to Windows 8, Microsoft said at the time.

Also in December, Matt Bencke, general manager for Windows Phone Developer and Marketplace, was moved to the Xbox Live team.

Microsoft has revamped its mobile operating system a lot lately, and managed to revive it with the launch of Windows Phone. Rumor has it that it that the upcoming Windows Phone 8 platform release will be tied to Windows 8 for desktops, which would explain why these management changes occurred.