More changes afoot at Microsoft as it adjusts to life without Steven Sinofsky, the one-time star who ran its Windows Division until he abruptly left this week.
Andy Lees, the onetime chief of Microsoft's Windows Phone group, is taking a job as head of corporate development and strategy. Instead of reporting to CEO Steve Ballmer, he'll report to CFO Andy Klein.
As Microsoft's mobile chief, Lees had some wins and losses. He oversaw Windows Phone 7, a much-needed "reboot" of the company's aging mobile platform. But the disastrously underwhelming Kin phone happened on his watch, and The Verge reported last year that Lees was blamed for losing partnerships with hardware makers like Motorola and LG, which turned to Google's Android operating system instead.
For most of the past year, Lees has been working on projects surrounding the launch of Windows 8, like the development of an e-book reader in partnership with Barnes & Noble's Nook spinoff. But that reader failed to launch in time for the release of Microsoft's Surface tablet.
Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
