Microsoft promotes another veteran from the company to head the Surface + Windows team
Microsoft lost Panos Panay to Amazon last year, but Davuluri is expected to seamlessly help the company build new Surface and Windows products.
Microsoft has been undergoing a major management rejig in the last six months or so. Satya Nadella and Co. have now picked a new chief to lead the Surface and Windows team, which was left vacant after Panos Panay left to join rivals Amazon in 2023.
The company has chosen one of its oldest employees, Pavan Davuluri to lead the combined team, as reported by The Verge which has got access to an internal memo sharing this update. The memo also refers to Microsoft’s decision to merge the Surface and Windows team that could help the company focus on converging the software and hardware and bring products that seamlessly fit into its philosophy and design.
Who Is The New Microsoft Surface and Windows Head Pavan Davuluri?
Davuluri is no stranger in the company, in fact, he has spent over 23 years at Microsoft, before which, he graduated from IIT Madras and then settled in the US for good where he did his Master of Science degree at the University of Maryland. As per his LinkedIn profile, Davuluri started his Microsoft stint back in 2001 as a Reliability Component Manager, and by 2005 he was the General Manager of the Surface team.
He even got a big jump in profile in October 2023, when he was made the Corporate Vice President of the Windows + Devices team, which he is now going to head from up-top. Spending 23 years at Microsoft, and also being a core part of the existing team allows Davuluri to seamlessly take charge and allow Nadella and Co. to build products and software for the future.
Things Moving Fast At Microsoft
Microsoft also has made a big move by hiring Google’s DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman recently, to head the AI division at the company. Nadella has also managed to pick up Inflection AI, along with its workforce, which will be closely working on new AI tools for the company, along with OpenAI’s close-knit association. The company has a big AI event lined up for May 20 where we could hear Nadella, Davuluri and Co. walking us through some exciting new updates.
