• by Danielle Oster , June 28, 2024

A major marketing leadership shakeup continues at Microsoft.

Microsoft veteran and Chief Brand Officer Kathleen Hall is leaving the company after 16 years, she announced on LinkedIn.

In the post announcing her departure, Hall wrote: “After 16 years at Microsoft, I have decided to return to New York and take some time off before my next adventure. It's been a great ride, and I am very thankful for my time, my team, and all that we accomplished together.”

Hall first joined Microsoft from Fidelity Investments -- where she was responsible for consumer marketing, advertising and brand development -- in 2008, and has served in her most recent role since November of 2016.

In an internal memo dated June 26 announcing her departure, which was obtained by Marketing Daily, Hall called it a “hard day,” and alluded to comments made by an unnamed team member that “the real legacy that will live on beyond any individual or organizational structure is the culture of respect, transparency, and inclusion that we have created.”

In a separate internal memo obtained by Marketing Daily, sent the same day, Microsoft CMO Takeshi Numoto wrote that “Hall has decided to explore next steps in her career,” and would “help support team transitions as needed over the next few weeks.”

Numoto thanked Hall for her many contributions over the years, citing her leadership on everything from launch campaigns for Windows 7, 8, and 10, and Microsoft Cloud, Microsoft's “Empowering Us All” Super Bowl ad debut, and annual holiday campaigns. He called Hall “integral in transforming the company’s brand identity” and in helping it establish strategic partnerships with sports leagues and entertainment properties, fostering strong agency relationships and “global media excellence.”

Numoto announced the hiring of Bryson Gordon to lead  global media, strategic partnerships, and agency management, with Gordon reporting directly to Numoto.

Under the restructuring, Microsoft’s global creative, advertising, branding, and operations teams will merge with its consumer marketing team, a move Numoto said would “create stronger alignment across our Microsoft and Copilot brand and content efforts.” Leaders for these areas and their teams will join Microsoft's consumer marketing leader Yusu Mehdi’s team under the restructuring.

News of Hal's departure comes as another marketing leader departs Microsoft.

Roblox hired XBox CMO Jerret West away from the company, bringing him on to lead its own marketing as CMO. West officially departs Microsoft on June 30.

With his departure, Microsoft’s gaming division is also implementing a restructuring to its marketing teams.

In a leaked internal memo regarding West’s departure, originally published by The Verge, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer announced: “Going forward, the Gaming Leadership Team and I have decided to place marketing closer to the businesses they support. Games marketing will sit inside of Studios, Xbox marketing will sit inside the Xbox team, international marketing will sit inside of the Consumer Sales Org, and our centralized marketing team will report to me.”

Other restructuring changes effective July 1, according to Spencer’s memo, include merging its integrated marketing team, led by Kirsten Ward, and its programming and events team, led by Tina Summerford, into “an expanded Central Gaming Marketing team” led by Ward and reporting to Spencer.