Microsoft Confirms Role Expansion For EVP Judson Althoff

Althoff will add chief commercial officer to his title and will now ‘lead a unified global commercial organization,’ while EVP Jean-Philippe Courtois is also getting an adjustment to his role, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft confirmed role changes for two of its top executives, Judson Althoff and Jean-Philippe Courtois, with Althoff now set to head up a “unified” worldwide commercial group for the cloud technologies giant.

Starting July 1, Althoff “will lead a unified global commercial organization focused on empowering customers and partners,” Microsoft said in a statement provided to CRN.

The global commercial organization will bring together Microsoft’s global sales and marketing organization, previously run by Courtois, and the company’s worldwide commercial business, previously run by Althoff, GeekWire reported.

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Althoff, who has been serving as executive vice president of Microsoft’s worldwide commercial business, will hold the title of executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Microsoft said.

Ric Opal, principal and national GTM and strategic partnerships leader at BDO Digital, a Microsoft Gold partner, said that Althoff and Courtois have done well at Microsoft together, but “having one person at the helm will drive organizational clarity and allow for better client and partner success.”

“Microsoft and Microsoft partners are going to benefit from Judson’s approach to the market and to partners,” Opal said.

Meanwhile, Courtois, who has served as executive vice president and president of Microsoft global sales, marketing and operations, will hold the title of executive vice president of national transformation partnerships.

Courtois will take on a new role “engaging more directly in cloud and AI technology, leading our national transformation partnerships around the globe, providing continued leadership to members of our global team, and in the pursuit of philanthropic interests aligned with both the company, and his personal interests,” Microsoft said in its statement.

Courtois has worked at Microsoft for 37 years, according to GeekWire.

Althoff joined Microsoft in 2013. He previously served as senior vice president of worldwide alliance and channels and embedded sales at Oracle.

Matt Scherocman, president of Mason, Ohio-based Interlink Cloud Advisors, a Microsoft Gold partner, said the move shows that Microsoft is thinking more about how its U.S. and international businesses fit together.

“I think it makes sense to unify sales operations and strategy under one executive, especially as the economy is operating more and more on a global scale,” Scherocman told CRN.

The role changes come during a time of expansion worldwide for Microsoft. For instance, on the company’s latest earnings call in April, CEO Satya Nadella touted Microsoft’s operation of “more data center regions than any other provider, including new regions in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, as well as the United States.”

“Azure has always been hybrid by design, and we are accelerating our innovation to meet customers where they are,” Nadella said.