HoloLens and Kinect CEO Quits Microsoft After Misconduct Accusation

The CEO of Microsoft’s HoloLens division, Alex Kipman, is leaving the company. Kipman co-created the HoloLens and previously the Kinect. He leaves after the appearance of an article in which he is accused of misconduct towards female colleagues.

Microsoft and Kipman have not yet publicly announced the departure, but an internal email that has been seen by GeekWire, confirms Kipman is leaving the company. Scott Guthrie, the head of the Microsoft Cloud + AI division, to which Kipman reports, writes that “it has been jointly decided that now is the right time for him to leave the company and pursue other opportunities.” With Kipman’s departure, the department will be reorganized and Kipman will remain involved in that transition in the coming months.

Kipman’s Departure follows after a publication by Insider last month, in which the HoloLens CEO is accused of misconduct towards female colleagues. According to Insider sources, more than 25 employees collaborated on an internal report about Kipman’s alleged misconduct. Microsoft declined to deny or confirm the existence of the report containing the allegations, saying in response that “every claim received is under investigation.”

Kipman worked at Microsoft for over 21 years. He started out as a Windows developer and moved to the Xbox division in 2008, where he oversaw the acquisition of PrimeSense’s 3D tracking technology, which would eventually spawn the Xbox Kinect. After that, he was involved in the development of the HoloLens. Kipman has hundreds of patents to his name regarding technology for the Kinect and HoloLens.

2019 preview of the HoloLens 2