By Rob Helm [bio]
Posted: Nov. 11, 2002

• Sidebar: Major Changes Under Allchin and Raikes
• Sidebar: Major Changes Under Ayala, Cole, and Lichtman

The following is the full text of an article published by Directions on Microsoft, an independent research firm focused exclusively on Microsoft strategy & technology. Each month we make one or more key articles available to non-subscribers.

Partners who track Microsoft's sales strategy might need to seek new ties to its product groups in the wake of recent changes to the organization. Most notably, Group Vice President Jeff Raikes has taken over field-based marketing efforts aimed at "information workers" and the sales strategy for small and medium businesses, while Senior Vice President Paul Flessner has taken command of the company's "solution-based" sales strategy for server products. Microsoft has also appointed new leaders to guide two strategic products—Office and Exchange—into mid-2003 releases and subsequent major redesigns.

This article outlines the most important changes to the Microsoft organization at the vice-presidential level and above since July 2002. For a graphical overview of the changes, see the illustrations "Major Changes Under Allchin and Raikes" and "Major Changes Under Ayala, Cole, and Lichtman". The changes are also reflected in the Nov. 2002 Directions on Microsoft OrgChart (see sample of a past OrgChart).

Raikes Gains Information Worker, Small Business Efforts

Two new executives reporting directly to Jeff Raikes will lead marketing and sales strategy for "information workers," a market which the company sees as a major source of future growth. To appeal to this market, Microsoft is creating integrated corporate solutions that include Office and Office Family products (e.g., Visio and Project) and new categories of products, all of which will be marketed by a new force of field-based "Business Productivity Advisors." (See "Information Worker Focus of New Client Plans" on page 26 of the Oct. 2002 Update.)

Joseph Eschbach, vice president of the Information Worker Product Management Group, will set strategy for the new Business Productivity Advisors and will oversee all marketing for Office, Office Family, and SharePoint products. Eschbach was formerly vice president of e-paper solutions at Adobe.

Peter Rinearson, vice president of Information Worker New Markets, will lead development of solutions incorporating Office and related products, and define new product categories. Rinearson is founder of Alki Software, an early third-party developer for Office, and was co-author of Bill Gates’s book The Road Ahead.

Also joining Raikes's division is Lindsay Sparks, vice president, Small and Medium Business. Sparks oversees the company's sales, marketing, and service initiatives for small and medium-size businesses, and its Worldwide Partner Group. He formerly reported to Group Vice President Orlando Ayala in the Worldwide Sales, OEM, Marketing, and Services Group. The move centralizes efforts in the small/mid-size business market under Raikes, who also supervises Microsoft Business Solutions, the company's line of financial and business management applications for that market.

Enterprise Partner Group Disbanded

The Enterprise Partner Group, which managed Microsoft's relationships with partners and sales efforts in some vertical markets, has been disbanded and many of its responsibilities handed over to Paul Flessner in the .NET Enterprise Servers Group. Specifically:

Charles Stevens, former head of the Enterprise Partner Group, has become vice president of marketing for the Enterprise Storage Division, reporting to Senior Vice President Bob Muglia.

Ralph Young, vice president of the Enterprise Sales Strategy Group, now reports to Flessner instead of Stevens. Among other things, Young is responsible for the training of Microsoft's enterprise sales force on the company's Microsoft Solution Offerings. The move gives Flessner, leader of Microsoft's server products, direct supervision of the primary sales strategy for those products.

Jonathan Murray, vice president of global accounts, who also reported to Stevens, now reports to Ayala. Murray remains responsible for relationships with all of Microsoft's global account customers.

The vertical market units that formerly reported to Stevens have been placed under Gerri Elliot, vice president of the U.S. Industry Solutions Group. (See "Vertical Sales Teams Consolidated, Expanded" on page 24 of the Nov. 2002 Update.)

Office, Exchange Get New Technical Leaders

Office and Exchange each have new managers who will set overall technical direction. Both changes come at a crucial time: these products are due for releases in mid-2003, and beyond that they face major redesigns to accommodate the company's Yukon storage technology. (See "Interim Exchange, Outlook Upgrades Coming in 2003" on page 3 of the Oct. 2002 Update and "Next Office More Connected" on page 23 of the Aug. 2002 Update.)

Antoine Leblond has been named vice president of Office Program Management. Leblond will lead all program management, user interface design, and product planning. Leblond previously held the title of Distinguished Engineer in the Office organization and was responsible for overall technical architecture for Office. He replaces Heikki Kanerva, who died in an auto accident in Aug. 2002.

Mohsen Al-Ghosein has been named vice president of Exchange Server and will be responsible for all development of the messaging and collaboration platform. One of the architects of Microsoft Transaction Server and COM+, Al-Ghosein also led efforts at bCentral to offer hosted versions of the company's server products. He replaces General Manager Malcolm Pearson, who now reports to Paul Flessner in an undefined role.

Other Changes Include New OEM Chief

Other notable changes that have occurred since the July 2002 OrgChart include the following:

Rodrigo Costa has been named vice president, OEM. Costa, who formerly managed the company's Brazil subsidiary, will take responsibility for licensing Microsoft products to PC vendors. He replaces Richard Fade, who has left the company.

John Wilkerson has been named vice president, U.S. Services. Wilkerson will be responsible for strategy and operations of field services in the U.S., including Microsoft Consulting Services, Premier, and Alliance Support Services. He replaces Morris Beton, who has left the company.

Jan Muehlfeit and Jens Moberg have each been promoted to vice president. Muehlfeit oversees 24 Microsoft subsidiaries in Eastern Europe, while Moberg manages subsidiaries in Northern Europe.

Bruce Jaffe has been promoted to vice president of MSN business development.

Tim Fritzley has been hired as vice president, Worldwide Sales and Services, in the TV Division headed by Vice President Moshe Lichtman. Fritzley is the former CEO of Ceon Corporation, which offers operations support and fulfillment software for broadband operators.

Darren Laybourn now reports to Satya Nadella, vice president, Microsoft Business Solutions, rather than directly to Vice President Tami Reller. Laybourn is leading the company's effort to develop the Microsoft Business Framework, a library of code and tools for common business application functions intended for developers creating vertical applications.