Microsoft made significant changes to its executive team this week as it looks to better position itself in the AI industry. According to a new report, Mikhail Parakhin, who led Bing search and advertising, will be leaving his role and looking for a new position within the company.
Mikhail Parakhin had oversight of some key consumer-facing divisions, including Bing, online advertising, and parts of the Windows business. He will now report directly to CTO Kevin Scott on an interim basis while he explores new opportunities. His previous responsibilities will be reallocated to other executives.
Parakhin has been a highly visible leader at Microsoft for more than a year. He has often been one of the most public faces of the company's AI efforts, using his X account to answer user questions directly.
Last week, CEO Satya Nadella tapped DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman to lead all of Microsoft's consumer AI work. The company has also moved its Edge, Copilot, and Bing teams under the new AI division. That triggered the leadership changes.
Microsoft hasn't explicitly stated whether Parakhin will ultimately leave the company or move to another role internally. However, his removal from the core consumer AI product areas underscores a significant realignment stemming from CEO Nadella's decision to install Suleyman as the unified head of consumer AI initiatives.
On the other hand, the memo also stated that Pavan Davuluri will assume leadership of all Windows and Surface hardware, reporting to Rajesh Jha, who leads these businesses. In case you missed it, Davuluri was named the leader of Microsoft's Surface hardware division in September 2023.
The shakeup shows that Nadella wants to integrate AI more deeply across Microsoft and accelerate the company's progress in this important area. He believes that Suleyman's expertise can help Microsoft reinvent its digital experiences with AI.
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