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Report: Another Windows Exec Exits

All About Microsoft's Mary Jo Foley reported Monday that William Poole, one of the Windows executives who oversaw the development of Vista, has left the company.

Poole's most recent position at Microsoft was a co-corporate vice president for Unlimited Potential, a division of Microsoft focused on promoting technology and computer skills in emerging markets, but prior to that he was a senior vice president for the Windows Client division when the company was developing Vista.

In her original post, Foley cited two unnamed sources who stated that Poole had retired. Late Monday, Microsoft confirmed to Foley that Poole "left to pursue philanthropic and entrepreneurial interests." Microsoft also told Foley that Anoop Gupta will be Poole's replacement, and the entire division will be moved under Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie (which Foley accurately predicted).

Microsoft has had several high-profile executives depart in the past few months, including Vice President of Corporate Development Bruce Jaffe and Corporate Vice President of Windows Core Technology Rob Short.

In January, Jeff Raikes, president of Microsoft Business Division, announced he would retire in 2009 and, of course, Chairman Bill Gates is scheduled to retire in July.

About the Author

Becky Nagel serves as vice president of AI for 1105 Media specializing in developing media, events and training for companies around AI and generative AI technology. She also regularly writes and reports on AI news, and is the founding editor of PureAI.com. She's the author of "ChatGPT Prompt 101 Guide for Business Users" and other popular AI resources with a real-world business perspective. She regularly speaks, writes and develops content around AI, generative AI and other business tech. She has a background in Web technology and B2B enterprise technology journalism.

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