Microsoft's recent executive shakeup is continuing with Executive Vice President Harry Shum stepping away from Redmond. This is an important move as Shum has been with Microsoft for 23 years. The company has announced Kevin Scott will replace Shum.
Scott is the current Chief Technology Officer and will fold Shum's role into his existing duties. Microsoft confirmed the shuffle through an internal announcement on November 13, as reported by ZDNet.
Harry Shum will stay with Microsoft until February 1, 2020. However, Scott will start in his new position immediately. Until leaving the company, Shum will be an advisor to CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
In the internal note, Nadella explained Shum's contribution to Microsoft.
“Harry has had a profound impact on Microsoft. His contributions in the fields of computer science and AI leave a legacy and a strong foundation for future innovation. I want to thank him for his leadership and partnership, and for all he has done for Microsoft.”
History
Shum has not confirmed what his next move will be but he is reportedly not planning to retire. This suggests he is lined up for a relatively major role somewhere, something large enough for him consider leaving his long tenure at Microsoft for.
Most recently at Redmond, Harry Shum has been leading the AI and Research Group. Formed in 2016, the division oversees Bing, Cortana, and Ambient Computing and Robotics.
Scott came to Microsoft from LinkedIn, where he was senior vice president of infrastructure. He has since been Executive Vice President and company CTO since 2017.
Shum's departure follows the recent news gaming executive Mike Ybarra has left Microsoft to join Blizzard.
