For the first time since 2002, Microsoft now has a company-wide president. Brad Smith was appointed as president and chief legal officer of Microsoft today, as reflected on his Executive Biograhpies profile page on Microsoft News Center. The last company wide president that Microsoft had was Richard Belluzo, who left the position in 2002 to become the CEO of Quantum Corp.
Brad Smith has a storied history with Microsoft, having joined the company back in 1993. He worked with the Legal and Corporate Affairs team (LCA) in Europe for 3 years, then going on to serve as the deputy general counsel responsible for LCA’s teams outside the United States. Afterwards, he became Microsoft’s general counsel.
As reported by Bloomberg Business, In an email from the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Satya Nadella, it was stated that he wants Brad Smith to play a bigger role in “strengthening our external relationships and representing the company publicly.” It was also noted that they were “working on initiatives regarding privacy, security, accessibility, environmental sustainability and digital inclusion.”
