Microsoft President Belluzzo to Step Down

Belluzzo said he is leaving Microsoft to run his own company. The 48-year-old executive joined Microsoft in September 1999 as a group vice president and was named president and COO in February of last year. While serving as Microsoft's third in command behind chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer, Belluzzo was responsible for worldwide sales and marketing, business operations including human resources, finance and licensing, and Microsoft's games and TV platform efforts. Belluzzo did not say where he hopes to land once he departs from the software giant, although the 23-year Hewlett-Packard veteran and former Silicon Graphics CEO has options. Certainly, he'd have to be considered a candidate for a top spot at HP, should the need arise.

"Given where Steve and I knew we needed to take the business, I decided it was the right time to pursue my goal of leading my own company," Belluzzo said in a statement. "I'm proud of what I've accomplished at Microsoft, and I will miss the great people I've worked with over the past several years."

While his tenure at Microsoft was short, Belluzzo helped drive company's diverse consumer activities such as Xbox and was responsible for transforming MSN into an Internet challenger to AOL-Time Warner and Yahoo. More importantly, perhaps, was Belluzzo's role in the development of .Net and Microsoft's Web services strategy, which is now in the crucial stage of initial deployment.

Microsoft says it has no plans to replace Belluzzo. Instead, he will transition out of his role as president and chief operating officer on May 1, although he will continue to work with the company through September "to ensure a smooth transition," according to Microsoft.

In addition to Belluzzo's impending departure, a number of other executives have departed or been transitioned at Microsoft in the last year. Robert McDowell was replaced as head of Microsoft's worldwide services organization by longtime IBM veteran Michael Sinneck in January. At the time, Microsoft said McDowell planned to remain with Microsoft as a vice president in another areas of the company. In addition, Microsoft lost channel executive Ian Rogoff, who took a sabbatical over the summer but never returned to his post as vice president of Microsoft's partner program.

Microsoft also announced Wednesday that it will restructure the company's business divisions. Under the new structure, the leaders of each of the company's core businesses--Windows Client, Knowledge Worker, Server and Tools, Business Solutions, CE/Mobility, MSN and Home and Entertainment--will have "comprehensive operational and financial responsibility and greater accountability," according to Microsoft. Ballmer and the Microsoft Senior Leadership Team will oversee the separate divisions.

Microsoft officials could not be reached for comment, but the company did release a statement in which Ballmer praised Belluzzo's work.

"Rick has worked closely with me analyzing the company's structure to determine how we could improve our internal processes and maximize opportunities for growth," Ballmer said. "We realized we needed to give our core leaders deeper control and accountability in the way they run their businesses, while at the same time ensuring strong communication and collaboration across the business units. This is the right decision for Rick, but the company will certainly miss his leadership and experience.'