What you need to know
- After 32 years with the company, Chris Capossela will leave Microsoft.
- Capossela was the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft until the announcement of his departure, which takes effect today.
- Takeshi Numoto will take over as Chief Marketing Officer.
- Yusuf Mehdi will be promoted to Executive Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer and added to Microsoft's Senior Leadership team.
Chris Capossela will leave Microsoft after 32 years with the tech giant. Capossela, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft until today, oversaw massive growth by the company over three decades. He first joined Microsoft in 1991 as a marketing manager. He became Microsoft's Chief Marketing Officer in April 2011 and moved into his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer in March 2014.
Takeshi Numoto will take over as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft. The company will also promote Yusuf Mehdi to Executive Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer and add Mehdi to Microsoft's Senior Leadership Team.
Capossela shared the news of his departure on LinkedIn:
"Today, Microsoft announced that we’re promoting Takeshi Numoto to Chief Marketing Officer, we’re promoting Yusuf Mehdi to Consumer Chief Marketing Officer and adding Yusuf to the Senior Leadership Team, and that I’ll be leaving Microsoft. I couldn’t be happier for Takeshi and Yusuf, and I’m so grateful for my own 32 years of working at this wonderful company. I’ve been shaped by the amazing Microsoft employees, customers, and partners with whom I’ve had the privilege to work with and learn from. The opportunity to spend so many years at Microsoft, work with Satya as CEO, and turn the company into a Cloud and AI powerhouse is an amazing gift that I don’t take for granted.
Microsoft has literally opened the world to me, allowing me to travel from Accra to Zagreb, while working on every product from Azure to Xbox. The memories of my time at the company will always remain dear to me. And I'm excited for the impact Takeshi, Yusuf and the marketing team will have in empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. In the short term, I’m focused on supporting Takeshi’s and Yusuf’s transitions into their new roles, and looking ahead, I’m excited to figure out the next chapter of my life."
More changes at Microsoft
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shared the change in the company's marketing leadership as well. Nadella pointed toward the advent of AI as a clear starting point for Microsoft's next steps. "Chris and I have been working on his succession plan for some time, and as this new era of AI is upon us, we’ve decided this is the right time to put that plan into action," said the CEO.
Today's news comes just weeks after Panos Panay left Microsoft. When that news came out, it was revealed that Mehdi would take over part of Panay's role. Now, we have a better grasp of Mehdi's future role at Microsoft.
