This past weekend, word got out that Tony Scott, Microsoft"s chief information officer, had decided to leave the company after five years for "personal projects.". Scott"s departure follows that of Steven Sinofsky, who left Microsoft in November after leading the development of Windows 7 and 8, and the resignation of the company"s CFO Peter Klein in April.
Now a new rumor at AllThingsD.com reports, via unnamed sources, that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is in the middle of a plan that, when it is put in motion, could turn into what the article claims is a "significant restructuring" at the company. The specific details on those changes have reportedly not been finalized and in fact could change between now and when they are announced.
One possible outcome is a simplification of Microsoft"s management structure. The article claims that could result in larger roles for some of Microsoft"s current high profile team members, such as Satya Nadella, the current head of its Servers and Tools division. It could also affect Skype division Tony Bates and Don Mattrick, the head of Microsoft"s Interactive Entertainment division (i.e. the Xbox business).
The rumors of change in Redmond come even as Ballmer has been saying for months that Microsoft is evolving to become an "devices and services" company. There"s also been calls from some analysts for Microsoft to make some more drastic changes. One of them is Nomura Equity Research analyst Rick Sherlund, who stated in May that Microsoft should consider selling off its Bing and Xbox divisions.
Source: AllThingsD.com