News

Microsoft Taps GE Exec To Lead U.S. Operations

• By Gladys Rama
• July 18, 2017

Amid a major internal reorganization to realign its sales and marketing units, Microsoft this week announced an addition to its leadership ranks.

The company has tapped Kate Johnson, currently the chief commercial officer and executive vice president of GE Digital, to be the corporate vice president of Microsoft's U.S. operations.

Johnson's role will take effect on Sept. 8, according to Microsoft's announcement on Monday, though the company gave no other details about what responsibilities her appointment will entail.

Johnson has over two decades of experience holding leadership positions in technology, banking and consulting multinationals, including six-year stints at both Deloitte and Oracle, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has also held positions in Red Hat and UBS Investment Bank.

More recently, Johnson was stationed at General Electric (GE), serving as its chief commercial officer and head of its Intelligent Platforms Software division. Since January 2016, she has been chief commercial officer of GE's industry-centric business, GE Digital, which is focused on "leveraging software and data analytics to digitize industrial companies," according to Microsoft.

Johnson's background in industrial technologies is a benefit to Microsoft, which announced at its Inspire partner conference last week that it would be taking a more industry-specific approach to product and channel development. Microsoft is also a partner with GE on the latter's Predix industrial cloud platform.

News of Johnson's appointment comes as Microsoft significantly reorganizes its internal operations, resulting in a reported 3,000 layoffs and some strategic reshuffling in its partner-facing executive roles.

The reorg has also led to one high-ranking executive exit: Jim DuBois, who had been Microsoft's CIO since 2013, left the company earlier this month, according to reports. He has been replaced by Kurt DelBene, Microsoft's chief digital officer.