Don Mattrick's departure from his role as head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division would appear to be a case of "pushed into jumping" given that no one has been pulled in as his naturally and elegantly installed replacement.
Instead of this, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has stepped in and announced that he will take over as the head of the division via an email that you can read below.
You can read it because it's an incredibly public announcement that appears to give the departed - not even departing - Mattrick no room for manoeuvre. The fact that Ballmer is taking over the division either indicates that all other internal and external candidates have been carefully assessed, interviewed and tested over a period of months leading up to Mattrick's long awaited departure to the struggling Zynga, and the Microsoft board realised that Ballmer was the man with the Entertainment know-how or...
...Mattrick has been offed due to a potentially catastrophic launch, then a retraction of many of the elements and strategies underlying that launch in the history of the company.
Here's the email... the key phrase being: "Don’s directs will report to me and will continue to drive the day-to-day business as a team, particularly focused on shipping Xbox One this holiday."
Source: Microsoft
Instead of this, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has stepped in and announced that he will take over as the head of the division via an email that you can read below.
You can read it because it's an incredibly public announcement that appears to give the departed - not even departing - Mattrick no room for manoeuvre. The fact that Ballmer is taking over the division either indicates that all other internal and external candidates have been carefully assessed, interviewed and tested over a period of months leading up to Mattrick's long awaited departure to the struggling Zynga, and the Microsoft board realised that Ballmer was the man with the Entertainment know-how or...
...Mattrick has been offed due to a potentially catastrophic launch, then a retraction of many of the elements and strategies underlying that launch in the history of the company.
Here's the email... the key phrase being: "Don’s directs will report to me and will continue to drive the day-to-day business as a team, particularly focused on shipping Xbox One this holiday."
From: Steve Ballmer
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013
To: Microsoft – All Employees
Subject: Don Mattrick’s Next Chapter
Zynga announced today that Don Mattrick would be its new CEO, effective July 8. This is a great opportunity for Don, and I wish him success. Don’s directs will report to me and will continue to drive the day-to-day business as a team, particularly focused on shipping Xbox One this holiday.
Since joining IEB more than six years ago, Don and his team have accomplished much. Xbox Live members grew from 6 million to 48 million. Xbox 360 became the No. 1 selling console in North America the past two years. We introduced Kinect and have sold more than 24 million sensors. We released fantastic games, and, most importantly, we expanded Xbox to go beyond great gaming to deliver all the entertainment people want — sports, music, movies, live television and much more.
In the past month, the IEB team showed for the first time here on our Redmond campus, and again at E3, how we are going to continue to transform entertainment with Xbox One. I am incredibly proud of the work and vision culminating in Xbox One.
I’m particularly excited about how Xbox pushes forward our devices and services transformation by bringing together the best of Microsoft. The consoles are incredible all-in-one devices with built-in services that consumers love, including Bing, Xbox Live, Internet Explorer, SkyDrive and Skype. And, just as important, Xbox Games, Xbox Video, Xbox Music and SmartGlass light up Windows PCs, tablets and phones.
Thank you, Don, for setting us on a path to completely redefine the entertainment industry. The strong leadership team at IEB and their teams are well positioned to deliver the next-generation entertainment console, as well as transformative entertainment experiences, long into the future.
Steve
Sent: Monday, July 1, 2013
To: Microsoft – All Employees
Subject: Don Mattrick’s Next Chapter
Zynga announced today that Don Mattrick would be its new CEO, effective July 8. This is a great opportunity for Don, and I wish him success. Don’s directs will report to me and will continue to drive the day-to-day business as a team, particularly focused on shipping Xbox One this holiday.
Since joining IEB more than six years ago, Don and his team have accomplished much. Xbox Live members grew from 6 million to 48 million. Xbox 360 became the No. 1 selling console in North America the past two years. We introduced Kinect and have sold more than 24 million sensors. We released fantastic games, and, most importantly, we expanded Xbox to go beyond great gaming to deliver all the entertainment people want — sports, music, movies, live television and much more.
In the past month, the IEB team showed for the first time here on our Redmond campus, and again at E3, how we are going to continue to transform entertainment with Xbox One. I am incredibly proud of the work and vision culminating in Xbox One.
I’m particularly excited about how Xbox pushes forward our devices and services transformation by bringing together the best of Microsoft. The consoles are incredible all-in-one devices with built-in services that consumers love, including Bing, Xbox Live, Internet Explorer, SkyDrive and Skype. And, just as important, Xbox Games, Xbox Video, Xbox Music and SmartGlass light up Windows PCs, tablets and phones.
Thank you, Don, for setting us on a path to completely redefine the entertainment industry. The strong leadership team at IEB and their teams are well positioned to deliver the next-generation entertainment console, as well as transformative entertainment experiences, long into the future.
Steve
Source: Microsoft
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