Microsoft Corp announced a series of changes to its management structure Friday and at the same time merged its consumer and business Windows groups into a single division. The new unit, to be called the Windows Division, will be headed up by Brian Valentine, the current manager of Windows 2000 development, the company said. The move goes hand in hand with Redmond’s stated strategy of trying to simplify its array of Windows OS products – the various flavors of NT, CE and embedded – by bringing them together under common Windows umbrella.
Valentine will report to Jim Allchin, who has been promoted to group vice president with responsibility for all Microsoft’s platforms, including streaming media. Bob Muglia was also promoted to VP status, this time of Microsoft’s Business Productivity group, which oversees the Office and BackOffice products. As part of the announcement, Muglia set up a Small Business Division which will include responsibility for Microsoft’s recently announced bCentral portal on MSN. Prior to that, Muglia has served in a variety of positions in the company, including senior vice president for its former Applications and Tools Group.
Today’s moves build upon and accelerate the reinvention of Microsoft announced earlier this year by deepening our bench of management talent with strong leadership teams focused on creating the very best products and services – accessible any time and from any device – for our customers,” Microsoft president Steve Ballmer said in a statement.
Ballmer also renamed the Consumer and Commerce Group. The division will now be called the Consumer Group and will continue to be headed by VP Rick Belluzzo. Also on Friday, Belluzzo added a new Consumer Services Division to the group, which will be run by David Cole, a previous Windows and Internet Explorer developer and manager.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft is currently in mediation with the Department of Justice to settle its antitrust case. Last month, US District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson found that Microsoft was a monopoly in the desktop operating system market and that it used that power to crush its competitors and harm consumers.
