Microsoft (MSFT) Names Hood New Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has a new chief financial officer. Amy Hood, an 11-year company veteran, who formerly served as chief financial officer (CFO) of Microsoft’s Business Division (MBD), will succeed outgoing CFO Peter Klein immediately, according to the company.

Hood is the first woman to hold Microsoft’s top finance job. Klein, who held the CFO slot for 11 years and announced in mid-April his intention to leave for personal reasons, will remain at Microsoft through the end of June to assist with Hood’s transition to her new post.

In her prior job as CFO of Microsoft’s $24.1 billion business unit, Hood, who joined the company in December, 2002 as part of the investor relations group, handled financial strategy, management and reporting. She is credited with developing Microsoft’s strategy in its $8.5 billion Skype acquisition in October, 2011, and the company’s $1.2 billion purchase of enterprise social networking provider Yammer in June, 2012. Hood also served as chief of staff in Microsoft’s Server and Tools group and ran the strategy and business development team in MBD before ascending to the unit’s CFO slot in January 2010.

“I’m excited to step into this role and look forward to working closely again with our investors and shareholders,” said Hood. “Peter [Klein] has built a world-class finance team, and I am set up well to continue the company’s strong discipline around costs and focus on driving shareholder value.”

In her expanded role, Hood will serve as Microsoft’s face to Wall Street. Microsoft’s stock has hovered fairly stagnantly between $24 and $28 a share since 2008, but has traded in the $33 range since the beginning of May — amid the growing strength of Windows Server, SQL Server, Exchange Server and other business applications. And in cloud computing, revenues for Windows Azure are now above $1 billion, and Office 365’s annual run rate is now above $1 billion, the company has indicated.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said Hood’s background fits well with the company’s current strategic direction toward the cloud and services. She is expected to play a significant role in Microsoft’s shift to embrace software and services tailored to fit mobile devices.

“Amy brings the right talents and experiences to the role as we continue to strengthen our focus on devices and services,” said Ballmer. “She has been an instrumental leader in the Microsoft Business Division, helping lead the transition to services with Office 365 and delivering strong financial and operational management throughout her time on the business.”

Hood joins other women in top slots at Microsoft, including Tami Reller, chief marketing and chief financial officer for the Windows division, Julie Larson-Green, who leads Windows product development, and Lisa Brummel, who heads Microsoft’s human resources department. Microsoft elevated Larson-Green and Reller to replace former Windows division president Steven Sinofsky, who left the company last November, less than a month after shepherding the Windows 8 launch.