David Sacks, co-founder and CEO of Yammer, has given Microsoft notice that he will be exiting the company.
The move comes two years after the tech company purchased Yammer for $1.2 billion. In announcing his departure from Microsoft, Sacks issued what most observers say is a Microsoft-styled memo that details why he leaving the company.
Yammer is a business-focused social network that Microsoft purchased with the hope of developing it further and integrating it into its platforms to give users more ways to easily connect with one another. The acquisition has been largely successful, with Sacks and other members of the Yammer team having taken up positions at Microsoft as part of the deal.
But the time to move on is now, says Sacks.
In the emailed memo, Sacks says that Yammer began small -- its first deal was only $25,000 -- and since then it has grown dramatically, to the point where it is to begin rolling out its software, via the UK chain Tesco, to some 250,000 users. This, he argues, has validated the company's initial belief in social networks, consumerization of enterprise software and other aspects of the tech sector that should have a social component.
Sacks doesn't appear angry or frustrated with his Microsoft experience, praising the company's CEO Satya Nadella over the strategic positioning push now being undertaken.
"Yammer has also made a huge impact on Microsoft's leadership in cloud, influencing how Microsoft builds software for the cloud-first, mobile-first, data-driven world, and this focus will only accelerate with the changes Satya is driving," Sacks writes.
But he also makes it clear that he believes his time with the company has reached its end.
"Almost six years after founding Yammer, and two since our acquisition by Microsoft, the time has come for me to move on and do new things," he continues.
The move comes only days after Microsoft announced it would be cutting around 18,000 jobs as part of what Nadella called a means to streamline productivity and management as the company heads into new arenas and pushes out innovative products. The announcement has led to a number of frustrations for workers who are likely to lose their jobs sometime in the next 12 months.
Economists believe the move will allow Microsoft to cut costs, but not lose its productive and creative edge, important considerations for a company aiming to increase revenue and bolster its product list.
