14 DAY TRIAL // Gabe Aul has become an iconic name for members of the Windows Insider program, pretty much because he’s been with us since the debut of this effort in October 2014 and always updated users with the very latest news regarding the operating system on both PCs and mobile.
But starting today, Gabe is no longer the leader of the Insider program as he decided to concentrate more on his other job within Microsoft.
Since August 2015, he’s also part of the Engineering Systems Team in the Windows Devices Group, so he’s responsible for “the tools our engineers use to build Windows, including our planning and work management systems, source code management, build infrastructure, and test automation systems.”
Gabe explains that, after 9 months with two jobs, it became more difficult to handle them both, despite the fact that “I wanted to keep managing the Windows Insider Program because I loved it so much.”
“This program is so important to me that I really want to have the leader spending 100% of their time on it. So the time has come for me to pass the torch to a new leader for the program, and I’m thrilled to introduce you to her today,” Gabe announces.
Enter Dona Sarkar
Dona Sarkar will be the new leader of the Windows Insider Program after previously working on several projects within the company, including features available in Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and HoloLens. She’s one of those who brought us the search experience in Windows 7 and 8.1, and the person who designed the File Explorer and Open/Save dialogs in these operating systems.
Although she posted photos on her Twitter profile using an iPhone, Dona guarantees that she’s a true Microsoftie, and Gabe says that she’s been waiting for this job for 11 years.
She’s currently using a Lumia 950 (not an XL because she’s writing an app for Continuum and she discovered that “more people tend to carry the smaller phones”) and a Surface Book, the logical choice for someone who’s part of the Windows Insider Program.
Dona has already released her very first Windows 10 Mobile build in the role of Windows Insider Program leader and promises to keep us up to date with everything Windows 10, just as Gabe Aul did.
