Bob Muglia, the president of Microsoft’s Server and Tools business is out and it looks like he has been pushed:
Bob Muglia, head of servers and tools, is leaving Microsoft this summer.
In a memo to employees, Steve Ballmer says he’s conducting a search internally and externally for a replacement.
He also says, "I have decided that now is the time to put new leadership in place for STB," which makes it seem like he’s tossing Muglia.
Server and tools is Microsoft’s third biggest businesses. It generated $4 billion in revenue last quarter.
Click through for the full text of Ballmer’s memo but here’s the pertinent clip:
The best time to think about change is when you are in a position of strength, and thatβs where we are today with STB β leading the server business, successful with our developer tools, and poised to lead the rapidly emerging cloud future. Bob Muglia and I have been talking about the overall business and what is needed to accelerate our growth. In this context, I have decided that now is the time to put new leadership in place for STB. This is simply recognition that all businesses go through cycles and need new and different talent to manage through those cycles. Bob has been a phenomenal partner throughout this process, and he and his leadership team have the right strategy in place.
In conjunction with this leadership change, Bob has decided to leave Microsoft this summer.
Sounds like he was definitely pushed. I have often said that Server and Tools gets no respect at Microsoft while it has built success after success in a much more competitive environment than that facing the other Microsoft cash cows of Windows (client) and Office and this is apparently just more of the same. One surely has to wonder what Ballmer is thinking since there are numerous other areas in Microsoft that could really use a shakeup. Anyhow, Muglia gets to run the operation until a new leader is found and then bring him/her onboard before departing.
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