News
Microsoft Worldwide Enterprise & Partner Group Chief Simon Witts Departs
- By Gladys Rama
- August 30, 2011
Simon Witts, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Worldwide Enterprise & Partner Group, is leaving the company after 18 years.
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| Simon Witts. Source: Microsoft |
"We can confirm that Simon Witts is leaving Microsoft," said a Microsoft spokesperson in an e-mail on Tuesday. "We are in the process of searching for his replacement."
According to Business Insider's Matt Rosoff, Witts' departure was announced via an internal e-mail from Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer.
UPDATE: Veteran Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley has posted a copy of Kevin Turner's e-mail announcing Witts' resignation, which Turner describes as a "mutual agreement."
Worldwide Industry and Global Accounts Vice President Susan Hauser will be in charge of partner relations and enterprise sales while Microsoft looks for Witts' replacement. Linda Zecher, corporate vice president of Worldwide Public Sector, will be temporarily in charge of the public sector arm.
As the leader of the Enterprise & Partner Group for the past eight years, Witts oversaw Microsoft's relations with its large enterprise customers -- of which there are nearly 10,000 worldwide, according to the company -- and its network of enterprise partners.
Witts has held enterprise sales positions at Microsoft since 1993, according to his executive bio. Before moving to the Enterprise & Partner Group, he served as president of Microsoft Canada, as well as vice president of sales and marketing for Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Prior to working at Microsoft, Witts worked at IBM "in a number of sales management roles."