Tech Moves: Microsoft names first chief design officer; resigned from T-Mobile and OfferUp
– Microsoft name it John Friedman as its first design officer. Friedman, who has worked with the tech giant for more than 22 years, said the new role recognizes the challenge of innovation in a world dominated by AI where customers need products they can trust, find intuitive to use and retain a sense of humanity.
The role of the chief design officer “spans boundaries, connecting design, engineering, and product to ensure that what we build comes together as a cohesive, human-centered experience. It exists to reduce fragmentation, increase understanding, and make innovation a reality across the company,” Friedman wrote on LinkedIn.
The position is at the center of Microsoft 365, a series of applications and services that include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive and Microsoft Teams. Friedman will report to Ryan Roslansky, senior vice president of LinkedIn and Microsoft 365.
Friedman pointed to Microsoft’s early release of Copilot as a cautionary tale of what happens without strong design leadership. AI technology has been added to all of the company’s products but “sticking it to existing things is not enough to create value,” he said, leading to a disparate user experience.
– Susan Loosmore he resigned IT-Mobile after more than 17 years with the Bellevue, Wash.-based telecom giant. Loosmore began his career in the wireless field 30 years ago as an accountant at McCaw Cellular, the first telecom acquired by AT&T. He left T-Mobile as senior vice president.
“A clear milestone in my career was joining the senior leadership team as a woman. It stands as a reminder that with focus, tenacity, and commitment to both hard and smart work, it can be done,” Loosmore said on LinkedIn.
Loosmore has shifted his focus to serving as a board member with Seattle Humane and the National Fiduciary Trust, and is planning additional roles.
– Ian Flipletchief growth officer at OfferUpis leaving the Seattle-based online market after more than 12 years.
“When I started, we were a simple group trying to rethink local commerce,” he said on LinkedIn, noting that the platform now has more than 20 million monthly users.
Prior to OfferUp, Fliflet spent more than a decade at RealNetworks, serving as director of business development before joining GameHouse. As for what’s next, he said he plans to spend time with his family and “dig a vision that I’ve been excited about for a long time.”
– Seattle-based law firm Foster Garvey he made two C-suite promotions, naming names Scott Flichtbeil as CEO and Andrew Randles as chief financial officer. The firm, with additional offices in both US jurisdictions, focuses on technology, intellectual property and patents, healthcare, transportation and hospitality.
Flichtbeil served as chief operating officer for more than five years and as CFO before that. Randles, based in Portland, Ore., was previously director of finance and accounting.
– And if you missed it, GeekWire On Friday it was reported about the slate of researchers at the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) who have recently taken up the role Microsoftjoining the Superintelligence team led by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman.
They combine Luca Soldaini, Kyle Lo, Dirk Groeneveld, Pete Walsh, Matt Jordan again Jake Poznanski.
