One More Miscrosoft Exec Takes Flight, Will Land at Google
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Written By Reprise Media | June 29, 2006 | Share This
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Stop us if you’ve heard this one: a top Microsoft employee has decided to leave the company to pursue philanthropic activities. Or, how about: Microsoft has lost an exec who was playing a key role in the company’s struggle against Google. We could easily be talking about Bill Gates and Martin Taylor, but we’re actually referring to Vic Gundotra, the latest notable Microsoft figure to get happy feet in the last few weeks.
According to CNNMoney, the blow will add insult to injury, as Gundotra has come to an agreement to work for Microsoft bete noir Google. A “noncompete agreement” prevents him from leaping to a rival company for at least a year after leaving Microsoft, so he intends to spend the interval laboring for charitable endeavors.
A 15-year employee and general manager for platform evangelism, Gundotra’s tasks included trying to get developers interested in building out applications on top of Microsoft’s products. Says CNN, “Most recently he had been working out a strategy to compete with the draw of Google’s newer, Web-based software applications.”
Gundotra also hired blogger Robert Scoble, whose well-covered departure marked the starting point of the recent exodus. However, it’s not exactly clear whether all the moves are related, and if so how.
Topics: People on the Move |