Microsoft, the software giant, has named Pavan Davuluri its new head of Windows and Surface, according to the Verge. Following the unexpected departure of Panos Panay to Amazon in the previous year, Microsoft divided the Windows and Surface divisions under two distinct leaders.
TakeAway Points:
- Microsoft has named Pavan Davuluri its new head of Windows and Surface
- Davuluri has previously played a significant role in the company’s collaboration with Qualcomm and AMD to develop customised Surface processors.
- According to the report, Microsoft’s Windows and device teams are finally getting together again.
Microsoft Names New Head
After the formation of Microsoft AI, the software giant has now appointed a new Surface and Windows chief. Mikhail Parakhin headed a new team at Davuluri that concentrated on Windows and web experiences, while Davuluri took over the work on Surface devices and silicon. Davuluri will now be in charge of both Windows and Surface because Parakhin has “chosen to explore new responsibilities.”
New Roles
The Verge has acquired an internal memo detailing the new Windows organisation from Rajesh Jha, Microsoft’s head of experiences and devices. Microsoft’s Windows and device teams are finally getting together again.
“This will enable us to take a holistic approach to building silicon, systems, experiences, and devices that span Windows client and cloud for this AI era,” explains Jha.
Presently, Pavan Davuluri leads Microsoft’s Windows and Surface division, answering directly to Rajesh Jha. Having spent over 23 years at Microsoft, Davuluri played a significant role in the company’s collaboration with Qualcomm and AMD to develop customised Surface processors.
Mikhail Parakhin has been assigned to report to Kevin Scott during a transitional period. It is likely that these “new roles” will be outside of Microsoft, though his future at the company is still unclear. Parakhin had been closely involved in Bing Chat development before taking on more general Windows engineering responsibilities and Microsoft Edge modifications.
Mikhail Parakhin will now be under Kevin Scott’s supervision during a transition period. However, his future at Microsoft appears unknown, and it is probable that those “new roles” will be outside the organisation. Prior to assuming more general Windows engineering duties and working on Microsoft Edge, Parakhin had been extensively involved with Bing Chat development.
Microsoft Shuffle
The Windows shuffle occurred a few days after Mustafa Suleyman, the former CEO of Inflection AI and co-founder of Google DeepMind, joined Microsoft to lead a new AI division. Additionally, Microsoft employed a number of Inflection AI staff members, including Karén Simonyan, the co-founder and current chief scientist of Microsoft AI. Thus, the majority of Inflection’s employees are joining Microsoft AI in a move that is perceived as a talent acquisition that deliberately avoids regulatory scrutiny up front.
Suleyman is now in charge of Microsoft AI, a brand-new division that will be in charge of the business’s AI products aimed at consumers, such as Edge, Bing, and Copilot. It appears that Suleyman was supposed to oversee Mikhail Parakhin, but that is no longer the case. Suleyman is directly accountable to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Jha says the Windows team will “work closely with the Microsoft AI team on AI, silicon, and experiences,” but there’s going to be some interesting areas of potential overlap that these new leaders are going to have to navigate. Microsoft AI now looks after Edge, a browser that’s a key part of the Windows experience.
“Mikhail Parakhin has decided to explore new roles. Satya and I are grateful for Mikhail’s contributions and leadership and want to thank him for all he has done to help Microsoft lead in the new AI wave. He will report to Kevin Scott while supporting the WWE transition.” Rajesh Jha’s memo read.
