Two heads of department leave Microsoft after CEO change

Two top executives at Microsoft leave the company after the appointment of the new CEO. These are the executive vice presidents of the business development and marketing departments. The outgoing business development chief is the former CEO of Skype.

The departure of ex-Skype CEO Tony Bates as head of business development comes as no surprise: he was a candidate for the CEO position, which Satya Nadella now holds. According to Re/code, announcing the departure, Bates has told Nadella that he cannot commit to the company on a long-term basis. His duties would be taken over by Eric Rudder, the current executive vice president of the strategy department.

The other outgoing executive vice president is Tami Reller and her marketing duties will be taken over by Chris Capossela, who already works in the marketing department. Reller has been with Microsoft since 2001 and she has held senior positions on the Windows team, among other things. At the same time, Capossela takes over advertising responsibility from Mark Penn, who remains solely responsible for strategy.

Microsoft would officially announce the decisions on Tuesday. There are often shifts within organizations after a CEO change and it is not unlikely that more role changes are on the way at Microsoft.