New year, new corporate structure. As is customary, Microsoft has opened 2020 by rejigging some of its positions, including the hire of a new Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and Chief Digital Officer (CDO).
Andrew Wilson, who spent 31 years of his life at Accenture, is filling the CDO role, while the CSO is Bobby Yerramilli-Rao, who has previously worked at Vodafone, and co-founder Hermes Growth Partners, Fusion Global Capital, Inflex Ltd, and Cambridge Epigenetix. Wilson will be the CVP of Core Services Engineering, while Yerramilli-Rao will be the CVP of Corporate Strategy. Both will report directly to Kurt Delbene, Microsoft’s executive vice president of Corporate Strategy and Core Services Engineering.
These additions were noticed by ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley and are backed up the pair’s LinkedIn profiles. Each has significant leadership experience, with Wilson serving as Chief Information Officer at Accenture for 6 years, and a senior managing director for over 25 years.
When he announced his step down from Accenture in November, Wilson noted his plans to go on a road trip across the US, but hinted at a future role in the new year.
“I have a short-term plan and then a longer-term plan. I have always wanted to visit all 50 states in the USA so I am about to undertake a driving tour that will reduce the ‘not visited’ list to a small number (which can be achieved next year when summer arrives). And then the future…I’ll announce my plans for next year in due course,” he said.
Meanwhile, it seems Yerramilli-Rao will retain his role as co-chair at Cambridge Epigenetix, which held net assets of £18 million as of December 2018.
A Government Affairs Shakeup
On top of all this, Microsoft announced the addition of two senior appointments to its government affairs team. John Frank will change role from the vice president of the company’s EU government affairs to the vice president of UN affairs in its new New York Office.
Danish diplomat and ambassador Casper Klynge will step into Frank’s former role in Brussels, where he will work on strengthening relations with EU institutions and governments across Europe.
“Today’s announcements will help us take the next important steps in addressing the technology issues of our time,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith. “As technology creates more opportunities and challenges for the world, tech companies need do more to work with governments in a supportive and collaborative way. John and Casper will help us do precisely that, across Europe and around the world through the United Nations.”
