Bekker's Blog by Scott Bekker, Editor in Chief

Blog archive

Presidential Overload at Microsoft

Microsoft is going wild with the "president" title. Just last week, CEO Steve Ballmer took the opportunity presented by one departing president (Stephen Elop) to bestow the big title on three people. The new presidents are Don. Mattrick (Interactive Entertainment Business), Kurt DelBene (Microsoft Office Division) and Andy Lees (Mobile Communications Business). Congratulations are in order for all three of these executives, of course.

Call me old school, but, to me, president and CEO are basically one title. You pick one or the other and everybody else is some grade of VP. Microsoft's title conventions are starting to remind of the "but it goes to 11" bit from the movie Spinal Tap.

A cursory review of the Microsoft Executive Biographies page reveals seven presidents now. In addition to the three new ones, there's Steven Sinofsky (Windows & Windows Live Division), Bob Muglia (Server & Tools Business), Qi Lu (Online Services Division) and Jean-Philippe Courtois (Microsoft International).

That's not counting those who have president or CEO or chairman as some part of their titles, in many cases for the legitimate purposes of running a subsidiary. That category includes Robert Youngjohns, senior vice president and president, North America Sales & Marketing; Umberto Paolucci, senior chairman, Microsoft EMEA (he's also a corporate vice president); Yasuyuki Higuchi, president & CEO, Microsoft Co. Ltd., Japan (he's also a corporate vice president); and Simon Leung, corporate vice president and chairman and CEO, Microsoft Greater China Region.

On a more consequential note, the Microsoft Business Solutions (Dynamics) product group is being moved out of the Microsoft Office Division. CVP Kirill Tatarinov runs Dynamics and will report directly to Ballmer. Does this mean, we'll start to see hard figures for the Dynamics business in Microsoft's quarterly filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for greater transparency, but I wouldn't be surprised if the results remain buried under other line items.

Posted by Scott Bekker on October 04, 2010


Featured

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Notebook

    Microsoft Centers AI, Security and Partner Dogfooding at MCAPS

    Microsoft's second annual MCAPS for Partners event took place Tuesday, delivering a volley of updates and directives for its partners for fiscal 2026.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: AI Is the Obvious Elephant in the Room

    As Microsoft doubles down on an $80 billion bet on AI this fiscal year, its workforce reductions are drawing scrutiny over whether AI's ascent is quietly reshaping its human capital strategy, even as official messaging avoids drawing a direct line.

Most   Popular