• TechCrunch, Thursday, July 24, 2008 11 AM

Officially, he may be leaving the company, but TechCrunch's Michael Arrington suggests that former Microsoft President of Platforms & Services, Kevin Johnson, was on the receiving end of an axing by CEO Steve Ballmer, who on Wednesday announced the company's latest reorganization of its online services division, after (officially) Johnson decided to leave the software giant.

Johnson had the dual-role of pushing along Microsoft's Windows cash cow while building its online services division, which includes the MSN Web portal and Microsoft's suite of Windows Live services. He leaves Microsoft to become the new CEO of hardware manufacturer Juniper Networks.

The reorg sees the Windows and Windows Live products report directly to Ballmer. All other online products, from search to advertising to MSN/Live.com products, will be headed up by a new executive. Ballmer said the company will look both internally and externally for a new online services leader. Arrington says Johnson was asked to split his time between the Windows machine and online services, and the results were predictable. "It's damn well time Microsoft put someone in charge of its online efforts," he writes. "A half time executive running a product that doesn't even have a brand (Live? MSN? Microsoft?) can't win against Google."

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