Microsoft Confirms New Hardware Division Boss

[Andy Chalk]

Microsoft Confirms New Hardware Division Boss

Microsoft has confirmed that Julie Larson-Green will take control of the Devices and Studios Engineering Group, which includes responsibility for the Xbox One.

Confirming the rumor that surfaced last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced in a message to employees that as part of a "far-reaching realignment of the company," Julie Larson-Green, until now the Corporate Vice President of Windows, will take the helm of the Devices and Studios Group.

"Julie Larson-Green will lead this group and will have all hardware development and supply chain from the smallest to the largest devices we build," Ballmer wrote. "Julie will also take responsibility for our studios experiences including all games, music, video and other entertainment."

While Larson-Green leads the development of the Xbox One hardware, the operating system will fall under the guardianship of the Operating Systems Engineering Group led by Terry Myerson. That group "will span all our OS work for console, to mobile device, to PC, to back-end systems," and also handle "core cloud services for the operating system."

Larson-Green is taking over control of the Xbox hardware development from Don Mattrick, formerly president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, who departed [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125553-Xbox-President-Don-Mattrick-Leaving-For-Zynga-UPDATED] the company for Zynga on July 1.

Source: Microsoft [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/Press/2013/Jul13/07-11OneMicrosoft.aspx]


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[Robert Roberge]

I like her I hope she can turn things around. IT will be hard but i hope it can happen.

I mean must be a crappy day for her after don mattrick came and fucked everything up, then just left, now she has to come clean up the mess.

 

[Angelous Wang]

I like her I hope she can turn things around. IT will be hard but i hope it can happen.

She cannot really do shit at this point, at least not for the XBOne. The design, components and spec's have already been decided by someone else.

All she is going to do is oversee the mass-production.

And if there is physical problem this gen like the RRoD (due to bad soldering) of the last, because she is now in charge she is going to get all the shit and blame, even though it was someone else's bad design.

 

[Robert Roberge]

I like her I hope she can turn things around. IT will be hard but i hope it can happen.

She cannot really do shit at this point, at least not for the XBOne. The design, components and spec's have already been decided by someone else.

All she is going to do is oversee the mass-production.

And if there is physical problem this gen like the RRoD (due to bad soldering) of the last, because she is now in charge she is going to get all the shit and blame, even though it was someone else's bad design.

Shit. That sucks for pretty much everyone. I now feel sorry for her.

 

[Griffolion]

I'm not sure how this will be received, but it's good to see a woman in a senior position. Far too few women are in CEO/senior seats in companies.

Regardless, let's hope she can turn things around for the division, especially on the PR side.

 

[Fappy]

Holy hell she looks pretty damn young for a VP! Not that it's a bad thing, it's just not a common sight.

 

[hermes]

I like her I hope she can turn things around. IT will be hard but i hope it can happen.

She cannot really do shit at this point, at least not for the XBOne. The design, components and spec's have already been decided by someone else.

All she is going to do is oversee the mass-production.

And if there is physical problem this gen like the RRoD (due to bad soldering) of the last, because she is now in charge she is going to get all the shit and blame, even though it was someone else's bad design.

They did change most of their DRM policies overnight, so I guess they still have some control and changeability over the XBOX specs.

And its still a pretty high position with a lot of security. After all, Mattrick almost set the division on fire on his way out, and got a promotion for his trouble. I don't think her work is going to be easy, but its too early to rule her out as just a scapegoat. After all, she used to be vice president of Windows, so she not going to get much more shit now that she got due to 8...

 

[omega 616]

I like her I hope she can turn things around. IT will be hard but i hope it can happen.

She cannot really do shit at this point, at least not for the XBOne. The design, components and spec's have already been decided by someone else.

All she is going to do is oversee the mass-production.

And if there is physical problem this gen like the RRoD (due to bad soldering) of the last, because she is now in charge she is going to get all the shit and blame, even though it was someone else's bad design.

I half agree, she can always redesign the system 'cos how many 360's are we up to now? 4 or 5?

My guess is she will have to wait a handful of months, then start the next versions design. It could be a better start than just launching a brand new console all on your lonesome.

Kind of off topic but, it's not very often you see a woman in a high profile role ... it's usually some 60+ man. Kind of cool.

 

[neppakyo]

Does she actually understand anything about the xbox, and hardware in general? Be nice if they actually got someone who had experience in understanding it. Not sure if she does, have to wait and see how much she fucks it up. (not that it can get any worse, this is microsoft, king of the fuck ups) She doesn't appear to be as stupid and moronic as Ballmer.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Anyways...

She was in charge of Windows 8, so maybe she'll somehow makes things even worse. I'm not sure what that would even entail, but it could be fun to watch.

Or maybe she'll fix everything. Who knows!

 

[alphamalet]

Holy hell she looks pretty damn young for a VP! Not that it's a bad thing, it's just not a common sight.

I thought the same thing, so I looked her up on wikipedia to see what she had done. She is 51, so not exactly young. It is just a very flattering picture of her that they posted. Not that it matters or anything, but I'm just saying.

 

[Fappy]

Holy hell she looks pretty damn young for a VP! Not that it's a bad thing, it's just not a common sight.

I thought the same thing, so I looked her up on wikipedia to see what she had done. She is 51, so not exactly young. It is just a very flattering picture of her that they posted. Not that it matters or anything, but I'm just saying.

She could just look really good for her age. Some people defy nature really well. Look at Sean Connery!

 

[alphamalet]

Holy hell she looks pretty damn young for a VP! Not that it's a bad thing, it's just not a common sight.

I thought the same thing, so I looked her up on wikipedia to see what she had done. She is 51, so not exactly young. It is just a very flattering picture of her that they posted. Not that it matters or anything, but I'm just saying.

She could just look really good for her age. Some people defy nature really well. Look at Sean Connery!

Sean Connery is pretty awesome, but I don't think defying nature is what's going on here. I think there are other factors if you catch my drift. This doesn't affect how well she can run a company though and seeing as how she had a hand in Windows 7, a decent OS, I have high hopes for her.

 

[EvilRoy]

Holy hell she looks pretty damn young for a VP! Not that it's a bad thing, it's just not a common sight.

Also interesting is the prominent ring on her left.If you look at a lot of magazine covers or adds having photos of married women the ring is often obscured unless its the focus of the add/article.

I think it's interesting that we are supposed to know she's married, and also (judging by the size of the rock) comfortable with displaying affluence in that area, despite her otherwise reigned in dress.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I wish her the best of luck. It's not going to be an easy job to have.

 

[ShirowShirow]

She's been sent in to try and fix a sinking ship. I do not envy her position.

-Thinks of how much money she'll be making-

Wait yes I do.