Even as all eyes were on the promotion of Satya Nadella as chief executive of Microsoft, the software giant quietly promoted Scott Guthrie as interim head of its Server and Enterprise Group.
Nadella vacated the position of chief of Server and Enterprise Group upon taking the helm of the company on Feb. 4. The vacancy, the company said, has been filled by Windows Azure champion Guthrie, who will now report directly to the new CEO.
Guthrie, a graduate of Duke University, served as corporate vice president for Server and Tools Business at Microsoft. Aside from steering the team that developed the Azure, he also led the development of other products and technologies such as Windows Phone 7, ASP.Net, Silverlight, Service Bus, BizTalk, Entity Framework, Visual Studio Tools for Web, among others.
Guthrie will maintain his current title as corporate vice president, which is directly below the executive vice presidents in the hierarchy. His LinkedIn profile (which shows him in a blue shirt instead of his signature red shirt) still shows that he is a corporate vice president in the company.
Whether Guthrie will be confirmed to take a permanent post is yet to be verified but there are reports that he is the front-runner for it.
A few days before his promotion, Guthrie even tweeted a pic of his new desk at Building 44 at Microsoft's campus in Redmond, Washington.
"My new desk (top right) + nearby layout in new building 44 open space plan. Each team room has built-in lounge areas," tweeted Guthrie, who uses the handle @scottgu.
My new desk (top right) nearby layout in new building 44 open space plan. Each team room has built-in lounge areas pic.twitter.com/uq9TbaeTnA
— Scott Guthrie (@scottgu) February 1, 2014
Nadella was appointed CEO by the board of directors of the company on Tuesday.
"During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead Microsoft than Satya Nadella. "Satya is a proven leader with hard-core engineering skills, business vision and the ability to bring people together. His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth," Microsoft founder Bill Gates said of Nadella.
Meanwhile, Gates leaves his position as chairman of the board and will assume a new position as founder and technology advisor. He will have a more active role in technology and product direction. Gates will essentially be the compass for Nadella. John Thompson who serves as independent director of the company's board will retain his position but will concurrently serve as chairman.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was all praises for his successor.
"Having worked with him for more than 20 years, I know that Satya is the right leader at the right time for Microsof. I've had the distinct privilege of working with the most talented employees and senior leadership team in the industry, and I know their passion and hunger for greatness will only grow stronger under Satya's leadership," Ballmer, who announced his retirement last August, said.
Ballmer will continue to serve on the board of directors of Microsoft.
