Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced several changes to the company’s leadership team, following the departure of its Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Turner, who is leaving at the end of the month to become CEO of Citadel Securities.
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Nadella said that Microsoft plans to split Turner’s responsibilities among five different executives, according to a memo from CEO Satya Nadella. He oversees more than 51,000 Microsoft employees. Judson Althoff will be responsible for the worldwide commercial business.
Kevin Turner will join Citadel, a global financial firm, as chief executive officer of Citadel Securities and Vice Chairman of Citadel.
Latterly, he was also responsible for the sales and marketing drive behind Office 365, as well as Microsoft’s Azure cloud.
Prior to Microsoft he worked his way up at Walmart, starting as a cashier while in college and later becoming CIO responsible for numerous company’s industry-setting technology initiatives. Kevin Turner’s leadership resulted in the highest customer satisfaction scores in the software company history and more than $90 billion in revenues for Microsoft in 2015. He will join Citadel after a short transition period, the Chicago-based firm said today in a statement. Turner added, “I also want to express my honest personal thanks to Satya Nadella for his leadership and mentorship, and to colleagues at Microsoft for their friendship, hard work and dedication”.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Turner held various positions at retailer Wal-Mart, including CIO for Wal-Mart Stores, where he worked his way up from the bottom.
As Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Capossela will take on responsibility for the Worldwide Marketing and Consumer Business, including the consumer channels group he previously ran, along with Microsoft Retail and the company’s relationships with OEMs.
Turner has been COO of Microsoft since 2005, and was once considered a candidate to replace former CEO Steve Ballmer.
Kurt DelBene – will now also lead IT and Operations, in addition to Corporate Strategy. Citadel has long invested in technology, having built its options-market-making business starting in 2002.
Nadella also discussed Microsoft’s need to adapt to a changing world, and to ensure that its global mission continues to provide “more solutions that are local in nature”.
Turner had spent 11 years as COO at Microsoft.
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A year ago, Mr. Nadella shook up the executive ranks when he announced the exits of other senior executives who rose at the company under Mr. Ballmer’s leadership.
