Steven Sinofsky leaves Microsoft

The news has fallen like a jug of cold water: Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows division at Microsoft, has just left the company. He has been the main person in charge of Surface and Windows 8, whom we have seen in all the presentations of new products of Redmond and who has led the change in the company's strategy since 2009.

The exit has been a real surprise: not even Microsoft employees themselves knew that Sinofsky was going to leave. In fact, the decision could have been made a few hours ago. He will be succeeded by Julie Larson-Green and Tami Reller, who will lead the Windows and Software Engineering divisions, and Windows Device Marketing and Business respectively.

Voluntary departure, and for personal reasons

The reasons for leaving? It's still too early for this to be due to sales of Windows 8 or Surface. According to The Verge, everything points more to Sinofsky's personal conflicts. The Windows leader wasn't much of a team player: he was very focused on Windows and Surface, and at a time when Microsoft seeks integration between all its services this was a source of conflict.

However, in the letter that Sinofsky has sent to Microsoft employees (from a Surface RT, of course) the reasons are other:

"Nothing indicates that it was a dismissal: rather a decision by mutual agreement. Of course, as can be read in many sources, few Microsoft executives will miss Sinofsky."

The Surrogates: Julie Larson-Green and Tami Reller

In the letter that Steve Ballmer has written about Sinofsky's departure, he has also announced who will be Sinofsky's two replacements: Julie Larson-Green and Tami Reller, as mentioned above.

Larson-Green will be in charge of the Windows division, both software and hardware. She will be responsible for keeping Windows 8 and Surface as Microsoft's top consumer products. She's no stranger to her new role: until now she was VP of program management at Windows, reporting directly to Sinofsky.

Tami Reller will be in charge of the Windows business area and marketing strategies. Reller joined the company in 2001 with the purchase of Great Plains Software. In 2007, she joined the Windows team, taking charge of the economic area. Both she and Larson-Green are very familiar with her new responsibilities, so hopefully the Windows division's strategy won't change too much.

What is the future of Microsoft without Sinofsky?

Many of us saw Sinofsky as the next CEO of Microsoft, Ballmer's replacement. After bringing Office, he came to the Windows team leading a complete overhaul that led first to Windows 7 and then Windows 8. He's also been the head behind the Surface, Microsoft's big leap forward and the real leap into PC hardware.

I don't think Microsoft's strategy will change, at least not significantly. Sinofsky was not alone in the Windows division: the vast majority of the division's managers came with him from Office, and they share a very similar vision of the product.

I also don't think the absence is noticeable in more collaboration between the different teams at Microsoft: despite what many company employees say about Sinofsky's problems collaborating, Windows is the best operating system integrated, not only from Microsoft but also from competitors (Mac and Linux).There is little room for improvement in this regard.

In any case, I think that the changes in Microsoft without Sinofsky will be seen as much in the long term, so we will have to wait several months to be able to assess the influence of this departure.

Via | Genbeta In Xataka | Steven Sinofsky, head of Windows, leaves Microsoft