News
Microsoft Appoints First Chief Design Officer
- By Sean Parker
- May 18, 2026
Microsoft announced last week that Jon Friedman will be the software giant’s first chief design officer, according to a LinkedIn post.
Friedman is a 20-year veteran with the Redmond-based company and his new position falls within Microsoft 365, which includes cloud-based applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Teams and OneDrive.
Friedman will report to Ryan Roslansky, executive vice president of LinkedIn and Microsoft 365.
Friedman has been devoted to the company's AI transformation in recent years, leading the design and research of Microsoft 365 Copilot.
According to the LinkedIn post, he says the biggest challenge is no longer building technology quickly, but ensuring technology serves people in a meaningful and consistent way.
His new role as chief design officer is focused on leading Microsoft's human-centred AI strategy.
"AI is not just changing what products can do, but how people relate to them. Trust, clarity, agency, and dignity become first-order concerns, and they either hold together or fall apart across the entirety of an experience," Friedman said.
The Rhode Island School of Design alumnus said the company failed to integrate a cohesive experience when it rolled out AI across its products in the early days of the Microsoft Copilot.
Friedman said: "The lesson was not to slow down, it's that we can now build the wrong things faster than ever before.
"The real challenge, and the opportunity, is learning to innovate with scale and intentionality."
Friedman says his new role is about helping "bridge the gap" between fast-moving AI technology and what customers are ready to use.
"Technology is moving faster than people are ready to move with it."