Microsoft’s head of experiences and devices is retiring, triggering a shakeup
Rajesh Jha, executive vice president of Microsoft’s Experiences and Devices group, is retiring after more than 35 years at the software giant. Jha was an integral part of the team that helped migrate Microsoft’s Office suite to the cloud and recently oversaw Microsoft 365 Copilot, Windows, Office, and more.
“After more than 35 years at Microsoft, I am retiring,” Jha said in an internal memo. “I will leave on July 1 and will remain in an advisory role thereafter.” Jha is leaving at the end of June, but Microsoft is not offering anyone to directly replace Jha’s role. Instead, he is promoting four of his direct reports to executive vice president, reporting directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. This includes Windows and Surface chief Pavan Davuluri, LinkedIn office chief and CEO Ryan Roslanksky, Business and Industry Copilot (BIC) chief Charles Lamanna, and Microsoft 365 Core president Perry Clarke.
“Rajesh has been a constant throughout my life at Microsoft,” Nadella said in a memo to employees today. “When I think of the pantheon of leaders who have truly shaped this company, Rajesh stands firmly among them. He embodies the commitment that helped build and transform Microsoft into the company it is today, and it is on the strength of that foundation that we will continue to move forward.”
This latest shakeup looks like a further flattening of Microsoft’s senior management, allowing the leaders of Windows, Office and other products to report directly to Nadella. Jha says Microsoft’s priorities “around the Secure Future Initiative, the Quality Engineering Initiative and Copilot remain unchanged” and that full details on the new organizational structure will be communicated by the end of June.
News of Jha’s retirement comes just weeks after former Xbox chief Phil Spencer announced his own retirement from Microsoft. Spencer is leaving Microsoft after nearly 40 years and Asha Sharma is the new CEO of Microsoft Gaming. Spencer will remain in an advisory role throughout the summer to support the transition.
