Former Microsoft Windows Phone Exec Resurfaces at Amazon

Charlie Kindel, a former Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows Phone general manager, has landed at Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) to direct what he described on his LinkedIn page as “something wonderful.”

Hmmm. Wonder what that could be? Might it be a phone-related project, say a rumored Android-based smartphone (there’s no word from Amazon on that one, at least not yet). Let’s check it out…

Kindel, who, in his 20+ years at Microsoft was credited with building the Windows Phone 7 app platform and third-party ecosystem as well as serving as Windows Home Server general manager and Windows Media Center group program manager until his departure in August, 2011, wrote on his LinkedIn profile: “I'm building a new team going after a totally new area for Amazon. I'm hiring cloud and mobile developers and testers, program managers, and product managers.”

The rest of the story, as they say, is a secret for now.

After walking from Microsoft, Kindel started BizLogr, a developer of solutions based on big-data analysis of calendar information. The company subsequently produced MileLogr, a Web-based solution for business mileage tracking and logging. “We believe there is terrific value in the data in people’s calendars; nobody has really tried to extract that value before,” he posted on the BizLogr web site.

Kindel said he’ll step down as BizLogr chief executive, with Stefan Negritoiu, the current chief technology officer (CTO) and co-founder, taking over the company’s reigns. A search has started for a new BizLogr CTO, he said.

On April 1 (as in April Fool’s Day), Kindel posted a blog that he was joining Amazon to “build the Amazon Kindle Charlie, the company’s “entry into the hotly contested home server market.”

Funny.

For the truly gullible, he continued on: “I was really enjoying working with startups, and really didn’t expect to be working at one of the giants again…but Amazon presented me with an opportunity to build a bold and audacious new business that I simply couldn’t pass up. The fact that it’s a home server and will be named after me was just icing on the cake.”

Then, with his tongue firmly out of his cheek, Kindel wrote about his new perch at Amazon: “Amazon’s vision is to be Earth’s most customer-centric company. I’ve long been a huge fan, and I’m jazzed about the idea of working in an environment where the first principle is to start with the customer and work backwards. I get to build a new team in going after a totally new area for Amazon. I’m particularly excited about all hiring I need to do for cloud and mobile developers and testers, program managers, and product managers.”