Microsoft has announced a significant restructuring of its top leadership team, aimed at enabling CEO Satya Nadella to concentrate more on artificial intelligence, data center expansion, and product development. As part of this reorganization, longtime sales chief Judson Althoff has been appointed CEO of Microsoft’s Commercial Business, a role that now also includes oversight of the company’s operations organization.
In an email to employees on October 1, Nadella explained that this shift is designed to allow Microsoft to manage its at-scale commercial business while simultaneously building the future of AI. “We are in the midst of a tectonic AI platform shift,” Nadella wrote, highlighting the importance of combining human talent with AI capabilities to drive productivity and innovation across industries.
Althoff, who joined Microsoft in 2013, previously served as executive vice president and chief commercial officer. He played a pivotal role in building Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS) into the company’s primary growth engine. Nadella praised Althoff’s leadership and emphasized that bringing operations under his oversight will strengthen the feedback loop between customer needs and delivery.
Additionally, Takeshi Numoto, Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer, will join the new commercial business unit and report directly to Althoff while continuing to coordinate with Nadella on broader company initiatives, including marketing strategy, corporate brand, and consumer engagement. The new commercial leadership team will bring together leaders from sales, marketing, operations, finance, and engineering to ensure rigorous execution, product strategy alignment, and readiness for AI-driven growth.
Nadella noted that this reorganization allows him and Microsoft’s engineering leaders to focus on high-priority technical work, including datacenter expansion, systems architecture, AI research, and product innovation. “This isn’t just evolution—it’s reinvention,” he wrote, calling on employees to embrace learning, adopt new ways of working, and stay close to the technical core to accelerate innovation across the stack.
The changes reflect Microsoft’s ambition to lead in AI and reinforce the company’s commitment to operational excellence, innovation, and global customer impact.