Xbox’s first chief working officer (COO) is leaving after the brand new function was created only a few months in the past. Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft at the moment, in response to an inner Xbox memo seen by The Verge. Chiang has been at Microsoft for 21 years, serving as the pinnacle of Minecraft earlier than being promoted to Xbox chief working officer in July.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma introduced Chiang’s departure in a surprisingly brief memo at the moment. “Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft at the moment. I’m grateful for her years of service and want her effectively,” mentioned Sharma. As Chiang is departing at the moment, her quick tasks are being break up up between different Xbox leaders for now, and Sharma notes that “We’ll share extra on COO management as plans are finalized.”
That sounds just like the COO place isn’t going away after only a few months, however it’s not clear why Chiang is departing after such a brief stint within the function. On the time of Chiang’s promotion, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma described the brand new chief working officer function as a primary for Xbox, “with end-to-end P&L duty throughout content material, {hardware}, platform, and providers.” The function was created as a part of Xbox’s huge “reset.”
Chiang reported on to Sharma, and was promoted to “carry our companies collectively beneath one working mannequin, ensuring we clarify funding choices, be taught from our successes and failures, and maintain ourselves accountable for outcomes.”
Chiang departs amid rumors that Xbox is getting ready extra layoffs this month, in November, and January. The sudden and brief memo from Sharma, coupled with Chiang’s tasks being assigned to different Xbox leaders, makes it look like this wasn’t a resignation.
I requested Microsoft to touch upon Chiang’s departure, and the corporate refused to debate the circumstances of her exit. “We don’t talk about particular person personnel issues,” says Kari Perez, Xbox vice chairman of communications. “We’re grateful for Helen’s years of service and want her effectively.”
