Microsoft announced several key changes on Wednesday
that primarily focus on its AI and cloud strategies.
In a major change in leadership, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has appointed Judson Althoff to CEO to run the company's commercial
business, reflecting a focus on a long-term technology and AI strategies.
In his new role, Althoff will oversee the team that includes engineering, sales, marketing, operations, and finance
leaders -- segments of the business that represent more than 75% of Microsoft’s revenue.
“This isn’t just evolution, it’s reinvention, for each of us professionally and
for Microsoft,” Nadella wrote in an email to employees Wednesday describing the
changes.
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Prior to being appointed to run Microsoft's commercial business, Althoff served as the company's executive vice president and chief commercial officer.
In this role,
he was the company's top-ranking sales leader and the architect of the Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS) division. He has spent a dozen years at the company.
Nadella said
Althoff will take on the expanded role as CEO of our commercial business. He was the architect behind designing and building Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS).
Takeshi Numoto,
executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Microsoft, and his marketing team will join this new organization, and will report as CMO to Judson. He also will report directly to Nadella
where business models, planning, consumer marketing, and corporate brand and communications are related.
Microsoft has also folded its AI subscription service for consumers into Office, hoping
its productivity suite will help the company better compete against OpenAI’s ChatGPT, despite its investment in the company.
The higher-priced tier announced today for Microsoft 365 will include an integrated chatbot and AI features such as image generation,
alongside Word, Excel, Outlook and other Office apps.
Customers currently
paying for the phone- and web-based Copilot Pro chatbot will eventually be moved over, Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s consumer chief marketing officer, said in an interview.