Today is a rather momentous day at Microsoft, with its Executive Vice President Terry Myerson – who has overseen Windows since 2013 (and Windows Phone and Xbox, for a while) – is leaving the company after 21 years.
What it all means, and how the shakeup within the Windows organization will play out, will likely be debated for the next few months. But it's hard not to say that overseeing what is arguably the most significant ongoing software project in the world has had its challenge (and rewards).
Myerson sent out an email to his entire team and did a brief recap of his lengthy career at Microsoft, which was shared on LinkedIn. It's well worth the read. It's certainly hard to summarize a person's career in a single post, but Myerson's message goes a long way.
From Myerson:
Team,It is an emotional day for me as I look toward starting my next chapter outside of Microsoft in a few months. We've been discussing this for some time, but today it becomes real.Satya's leadership and insight in defining a Microsoft 365 experience, built on top of an intelligent edge/intelligent cloud platform is inspiring. I believe in it, and that these changes are great for Microsoft. Change can be invigorating for us all and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to work with Satya on helping define this new structure. I will be around as we work through this transition, and then I will continue to root on Satya and this team every day.Microsoft has been my work, my team, and my purpose for 21 years. Over the years I have worked with so many of you to take on big challenges and serve our customers. I've learned so much. We've accomplished so much together. And I have had so much fun. Your passion, commitment, and sheer brilliance has kept me inspired. You have taught me new ways of looking at the world. You made me a better leader. And together, we have delivered products that positively changed the way people work and live. I am grateful for each of you.Most recently, with Windows 10 we set out to restore the trust of our consumer and business users and set Windows up to be a key part of the new Microsoft. With us now approaching 700M active Windows 10 users, commercial usage growing 84% YOY, Xbox One running a Windows 10 core, Surface innovation highlighting the Microsoft 365 experience, HoloLens bringing breakthroughs in computer vision, a universal store enabling GamePass, Azure reserved instances, and Office distribution, and a revitalized partner ecosystem – we've made incredible progress, and set the foundation for a new chapter to begin.But it's time for me to take a break, and then look forward to my own next chapter. I'm excited to see what's next professionally. In the meantime, I can't wait to spend quality time with my family and pursue a few big life goals.While today I have many emotions, I'm mostly filled with gratitude and optimism – gratitude for the experiences I have had and optimism for the future ahead.Sincerely, thank you for all the incredible experiences we've had together.
