Microsoft Moves: Longtime CEO Julia Liuson to Retire; a new accessibility officer; and other changes
Great technology is moving today from Microsoft: A long time officer Julia Lewison you go Neil Barnett he’s the company’s new chief accessibility officer, too Nanda Ramachandran named chief marketing officer of Windows & Devices.
They are part of a broader wave of executive departures and changes at Microsoft as CEO Satya Nadella looks to flatten the company’s reporting structure and adapt to the new realities of AI in its product development and marketing.
– Liuson is leaving after more than 34 years and Redmond, Wash. The tech giant, which began operations in June, reports several news outlets.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Liuson has been president since 2021 of Microsoft’s Developer Division, which includes Microsoft Azure services for developers, Visual Studio and the .NET Framework. This section has evolved to integrate with GitHub, which the company acquired in 2018.
Liuson joined Microsoft in 1992 as a software engineer after graduating from the University of Washington. Company history says that she is the first woman to be promoted to the position of vice president of corporate development at Microsoft.
A company spokesperson called Liuson’s departure “a thoughtful, planned decision to step down from his full-time job and move into his next chapter,” adding that he will serve full-time until June and transition into an advisory role.
“We’re grateful for the impact Julia and the broader team have brought to developers and customers, and we’re focused on maintaining momentum as we move into the next financial year and beyond. Our strategy for developers and AI – and our commitment to customers – remains the same,” the spokesperson said.
Liuson will continue to report to Microsoft CoreAI boss Jay Parikh in his advisory role, The Verge reported, citing an internal memo. Liuson’s successor has not been publicly named.
Microsoft in recent years has been aggressively hiring AI leaders from Google DeepMind, Allen Institute for AI, Meta and elsewhere to strengthen its AI technology. That includes Parikh, who joined in 2024 from Lacework and was previously at Meta.
– In his new role, Barnett will lead Microsoft’s accessibility efforts within its Corporate, External & Legal Affairs organization.
Barnett has been with the company since 2001 and for the past 12 years has been a team leader focused on Internet security, privacy and accessibility support.
He succeeds Jenny Lay-Flurrie in the role.
“Neil brings a rare combination of unwavering advocacy, strong operational and people leadership combined with clarity, conviction, and purpose,” Lay-Flurrie said on LinkedIn. Over the past decade, he has built and scaled the company’s neurodiversity program and Disability Answer Desk, which has supported more than 2 million customers.
– Lay-Flurrie, who has worked with Microsoft for more than 21 years, he stepped into his new role in February as head of the Trusted Technology Group. This category covers accessibility, digital security, privacy, responsible AI, business sustainability, and responsible business practices. (See more GeekWire coverage of Lay-Flurrie’s new role.)
– Ramachandran joins Microsoft from Google, where for the past 12 years he was vice president of the Pixel Business, which includes phones, tablets, laptops and other devices. Ramachandran is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and previously held leadership roles at Samsung Mobile and Motorola.
As the new CMO of Windows & Devices, he shared his excitement for building hardware including Microsoft Surface computers and the growing Windows.
“We’re moving into the next phase of computing, and helping to guide Windows and our devices into the agent OS era is a great opportunity,” he said on LinkedIn.
