Microsoft parts ways with Windows head

Microsoft on Monday abruptly parted ways with Windows head Steven Sinofsky, barely two weeks after the long-time software executive oversaw the launch of the company’s most important new software product in nearly two decades.

Mr Sinofsky was behind the radical overhaul of Windows that has seen Microsoft combine a personal computer and a touchscreen tablet operating system in a single product as it attempts to catch up with market leader Apple. The controversial decision to pursue a hybrid approach has drawn criticism from some reviewers, as well as scorn from Apple boss Tim Cook.

Microsoft said last month that the Windows 8 launch was more successful than its predecessor’s, with 4m customers buying software to upgrade their computers in the first four days. However, analysts say that it will be months before it becomes clear whether the business customers who determine the success of each new Windows release will take to the software.

Mr Sinofsky’s star had risen rapidly at Microsoft after he was brought in to head its core operating system division following the debacle surrounding Windows Vista. He went on to oversee the well-received Windows 7, positioning him for a while as the most likely heirapparent to Steve Ballmer, chief executive.

A Microsoft veteran of 23 years, Mr Sinofsky won a reputation for his rigorous management of large and complex software projects, delivering important products on schedule and avoiding the sort of delays that plagued Vista. However, he was known as an ambitious and abrasive manager inside the company, causing tensions with some of his peers.

While delivering Windows 8 on schedule, he failed to draw enough outside developers to create apps for the new software, a lapse that is widely seen as one of the greatest immediate drawbacks in Microsoft’s effort to break into the tablet market.

Microsoft gave no reason for Mr Sinofsky’s immediate departure and Mr Ballmer gave only cursory recognition of his work, saying: “I am grateful for the many years of work that Steven has contributed to the company.”

However, announcing that Julie Larson-Green, another Windows executive, would take over Mr Sinofsky’s engineering responsibilities, he paid tribute to her “proven ability to effectively collaborate and drive a cross-company agenda”.

Mr Sinofsky also took much of the blame publicly for Microsoft’s failure for a number of months this year to stick to the terms of a settlement reached with European regulators, a lapse that is expected to lead to a significant fine from Brussels.