Reorganization time at Microsoft shuffled the executive deck, as the company moved people up on the org chart, perhaps as early preparation for a successful Yahoo takeover.
Microsoft moved seven people to senior vice-president positions, and another seven to corporate vice-president. We wouldn’t have pegged Steve Ballmer as the occultic type, but the number seven does have a long history of being seen as lucky.
Based on Microsoft’s announcement, we may see more of Bill Veghte, senior vice president, Online Services & Windows Business Group. He replaces Steve Berkowitz, who has moved from CEO at Ask.com to heading Microsoft’s online efforts to an August 2008 exit, in only a couple of years.
Veghte receives the joyless task of taking on Google. Adding Yahoo to Microsoft’s properties will give him more of a chance of success than what Berkowitz had, in the form of two online properties that added up to roughly 10 percent of the US search market.
Mary Jo Foley pondered the role of one acquired executive, who was not mentioned in Microsoft’s summary:
The biggest mystery, post-reorg, remains Senior Vice President and former aQuantive CEO Brian McAndrews. No new title, no noticeable new responsibilities – yet. Company watchers are betting on McAndrews to become the new head of the Yahoo acquisition (whenever and if ever that deal is consummated.)
Another exiting Microsoft executive, mobile honcho Pieter Knook, already landed a new gig. He joined Vodafone to head up a newly created Internet Services division at the wireless carrier.
