Microsoft: Myerson Rises, Elop Out in Strategic Overhaul

The three engineering groups are Windows and Devices headed by Myerson, Cloud and Enterprise (C+E), led by Scott Guthrie, and Applications and Services (ASG), led by Qi Lu.

Windows and Devices is where much of the new action is taking place. The new group merges the vendor’s Windows platform with its hardware, namely the Surface tablets, Lumia smartphones, HoloLens, Surface Hub, Band and Xbox. It effectively combines engineering from the former OS Group and Devices Group under one roof with the residual effect of squeezing Elop out. “This new team brings together all the engineering capability required to drive breakthrough innovations that will propel the Windows ecosystem forward,” Nadella wrote.

The development teams that build Microsoft’s Dynamics products will move to C+E. The shift “will enable us to accelerate our ERP and CRM work even further and mainstream them as part of our core engineering and innovation efforts,” Nadella said.

Engineering efforts to build solutions for Education will move to ASG.

Elop, the former head of Microsoft’s business software unit before he jumped to the chief executive slot at Nokia before returning to run the vendor’s devices unit after Microsoft bought Nokia, is out, making it quite clear that its mobile plans have changed to revolve around Windows 10.

Former Nokia veteran executive Jo Harlow, an Elop report, who came to Microsoft with the Nokia acquisition to head its phones business, also is out, as The Verge reported and the vendor confirmed.

Kirill Tatarinov, who headed Microsoft’s $2 billion Dynamics business, is out.

Eric Rudder, a 25-year Microsoft veteran in its former Server and Tools business, Microsoft Research and most recently its advanced technology and education efforts, is out.

Mark Penn, Microsoft chief insight officer and marketing veteran, will exit in September to form a private equity firm focused on digital marketing services.