Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will reportedly announce a restructuring as early as next week.
Rumors of a Microsoft restructuring have been reported for weeks, though a new report claims the plans are nearly finalized, with division heads who will oversee more tasks expected to be named soon.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will reveal the reorganization as early as next week. Sources told Bloomberg that the new chain of command will solidify Ballmer's vision of Microsoft as a devices and services company, a goal the chief executive has emphasized for more than a year. When the restructuring is complete, Microsoft will consist of divisions that work more broadly across the company's various areas of operation.
Bloomberg claims current Skype President Tony Bates will oversee "acquisitions and relationships with software developers" while also focusing on overall strategy and business development on the software side as well as coordinating with hardware partners. On the hardware front, Julie Larson-Green, who is currently in charge of the Windows division, will reportedly oversee the company's entire range of products, including Xbox consoles and Surface tablets.
Don Mattrick, who was the head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business (the unit that oversees the Xbox team), was reportedly in the running to oversee the company's hardware prior to his recently announced departure for Zynga.
Microsoft's best-known product, Windows, would have a division all to itself that would combine both desktop and mobile Windows development, meaning Windows and Windows Phone would be overseen by the same leadership. Bloomberg claims Terry Myerson, who currently heads the Windows Phone unit, will oversee that combined division. Previous reports indicated Myerson would run the division jointly with Larson-Green, though Mattrick's departure may have changed those plans.
Finally, Satya Nadella, current head of Microsoft's server business, would lead a division that consists of cloud computing and corporate products and services, while Qi Lu, president of Microsoft's Online Services Division, would lead a division for online "applications and services engineering" that would include Skype, Bing and Office. Bloomberg's report didn't clarify whether Lu's proposed division would include all Office products or just the online services, such as Office Web Apps.
In addition to the new divisions, Ballmer's plan would reportedly separate the company's engineering units from its business units, meaning marketing staff would work together regardless of what product or service they're assigned to. Tami Reller, current leader of Windows marketing, would oversee the entire marketing unit. Additionally, financial chiefs for each division would report directly to Amy Hood, Microsoft's chief financial officer, instead of their division heads as they currently do.
Source: Bloomberg | Image via Microsoft
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