14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is very close to announcing a new leadership team change, as Julie Larson-Green could soon become the number one executive in the Office division and replace Kirk Koenigsbauer, who in his turn will start working with chief marketing officer Chris Capossela.
The report comes via recode and is not yet confirmed by Microsoft, but the source says that an announcement should follow soon, as the company's working to finalize the transition and make it as smoothly as possible.
Office was, is, and will continue to be one of the biggest cash cows for Microsoft, together with Windows, and Redmond has embarked on a bigger adventure that's supposed to ensure long-term profitability and push the productivity suite from a regular software solution to a subscription-based service.
What's more, Microsoft has pushed Office beyond Windows, so the productivity suite is now available not only on desktop computers but also on mobile devices, such as iOS and Android.
Continued growth of the Office division
That will be the goal of Julie Larson-Green at the helm of the Office division, the source says, so she'll be in charge of this growth, while at the same time she'll have to find new ways to expand it to more platforms and interconnect the included applications.
Julie Larson-Green has spent more than 20 years at Microsoft, and not only that she was the first woman to lead the Windows team but she was also considered a potential replacement for Steve Ballmer at the helm of Microsoft when he announced his decision to step down.
Larson-Green was at that time on the company's shortlist, alongside key names from the technology industry, including former Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Satya Nadella, who has since been appointed CEO of the company. At this point, Julie Larson-Green is the Chief Experience Officer of the "My Life & Work" team at Microsoft.