Windows Chief Terry Myerson To Leave Microsoft Amid Exec Shakeup And Major AI Push

The move comes as Microsoft is attempting to better secure its future when it comes to "intelligent cloud" services -- which are becoming an increasing part of its revenue stream -- and leveraging artificial intelligence capabilities.

"Over the past several years, Terry and the WDG team transformed Windows to create a secure, always up-to-date, modern OS," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. "His strong contributions to Microsoft over 21 years from leading Exchange to leading Windows 10 leave a real legacy. I want to thank Terry for his leadership on my team and across Microsoft."

As a result of the reorganization efforts, Rajesh Jha will take on the position as the chief of the new Experiences & Devices team. This team will be responsible for consumer/client releases of Windows operating systems, apps like Office 365, and Microsoft's expanding Surface hardware family.

Surface Chief Panos Panay will now serve as Chief Product Officer to "further [Microsoft's] product ethos across hardware and software boundaries for our first-party devices.” That means devices like the Surface Book and Surface Pro along with more exotic hardware like the HoloLens.

Joe Belfiore, who was once the chief promoter of Windows 10 Mobile, will be responsible for pushing Windows experiences with the PC and device ecosystem. "The future of Windows is bright as we continue to innovate across new scenarios and device form factors, and more deeply connect to our Microsoft 365 offerings," adds Nadella.

Kudo Tsunoda will head up Microsoft's efforts on New Experiences and Technology, while Brad Anderson will head up the company's Enterprise Mobility and Management efforts to enhance Windows Enterprise deployments and push tighter Microsoft 365 integration.

One other tidbit of information gleaned from Microsoft's announcement is that the company is establishing an AI and Ethics in Engineering and Research (AETHER) Committee, which will be made up of senior leadership across the company's various core segments.

"AETHER will ensure our AI platform and experience efforts are deeply grounded within Microsoft’s core values and principles and benefit the broader society," Nadella continues. Among other steps, we are investing in strategies and tools for detecting and addressing bias in AI systems and implementing new requirements established by the GDPR."

In the end, Nadella says that this shakeup will help make Microsoft a stronger company better prepared at handling future endeavors. "It will take courage to keep learning and growing together — encouraging one another’s individual strengths, building more diversity and inclusion across our teams, and collaborating as One Microsoft."