President, COO Belluzzo to Resign

After 14 months in his current position, Microsoft President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Rick Belluzzo has announced his resignation. The move is a logical endnote to a series of organizational changes that moved many product groups from Belluzzo’s control and into other parts of the company. The move also emphasizes the difficulty Microsoft has in filling the number-three position under founder and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer.

Belluzzo’s last day as president will be May 1, and he will leave the company in September—exactly three years after he was hired.

Hired to Lead Consumer Services

Belluzzo joined Microsoft in Sept. 1999 after a 19-month stint as the CEO of workstation manufacturer Silicon Graphics and was placed in charge of the Consumer and Commerce Group (CCG), which included Microsoft Network (MSN) and other consumer Web sites and services, interactive TV services and platforms, and hardware, such as mice and keyboards. Soon after his arrival, the CCG grew to include Microsoft’s strategy and products for wireless devices and changed its name to the Personal Services and Devices Group.