Microsoft's Chief Product Officer Panos Panay Quits Company After 19 Years

Panos Panay, the chief product officer at Microsoft, who oversaw the development of Surface devices and Windows 11, is leaving the company after 19 years. Mr Panay announced his departure from the company via a post on X.

In a tweet, he wrote, ''After 19 incredible years at Microsoft, I've decided to turn the page and write the next chapter. I'm forever grateful for my time at Microsoft and the amazing people I had the honor to make products with.''

See the tweet here:

After 19 incredible years at Microsoft, I've decided to turn the page and write the next chapter. I'm forever grateful for my time at Microsoft and the amazing people I had the honor to make products with.

— Panos Panay (@panos_panay) September 18, 2023

In an internal email to staff, Microsoft Executive Vice President Rajesh Jha confirmed Mr. Panay's departure. The email read, ''After nearly 20 years at the company, Panos Panay has decided to leave Microsoft. Panos has had an incredible impact on our products and culture as well as the broader devices ecosystem.

Under Panos' leadership, the team created the iconic Surface brand with loved products. More recently, as the leader of Windows, the team has brought amazing services and experiences to hundreds of millions with Windows 11 on innovative devices including those from our OEM partners. He will be missed, and I am personally very grateful for his many contributions over the years. Please join me in wishing him well.''

Notably, Mr. Panay joined Microsoft in 2004 as one of the company's group program managers and became the person in charge of supervising the Surface hardware division as well as other products. He was named the company's chief product officer in 2018 and was promoted to executive vice president after a successful Windows 11 launch in 2021. 

"Thank you, Panos, for your impact on our products, culture, company, and industry over the past two decades. I'm grateful for your leadership, support, and all you've done for Microsoft and our customers and partners," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in an emailed statement. 

As per TechCrunch, the news comes just days before a New York City event set to debut new Surface hardware. 

Microsoft's consumer marketing head, Yusuf Mehdi, will take over leading the Windows and Surface businesses. ''Yusuf Mehdi will take on the responsibility of leading the Windows and Surface businesses with our OEM and Retail partners,'' the memo reads.