Microsoft Consumer CMO Yusuf Mehdi will leave the company after
35 years. He has been in his current role since 2023.
"After 35 extraordinary years at Microsoft -- years filled with adventure, challenge, reinvention, and innovation -- I've decided the time
is right to begin planning for my next adventure," Mehdi wrote in the memo seen by Business Insider. "I will work through the next fiscal year to help reimagine Windows for the agentic era,
grow Microsoft 365 services, and bring our One Copilot vision to life."
Mehdi's statement hints at changes coming to how Windows' operating system operates -- embedded with
and having to support artificial intelligence (AI) and agentic services.
MediaPost had reached out to Microsoft several weeks ago to ask what the Windows OS will look like in the
AI and agentic era, but received no response.
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When questioned whether the operating system would become obsolete or whether it could transform into something else to run the personal computer,
a Microsoft spokesperson wrote back in an email to say “we’ve escalated your question internally, so we’ll need a bit of time to come back with a response.” That was one month
ago.
In the letter, which was written by Mehdi and shared with Business Insider, he notes feeling “privileged” to have been part of “some of the most consequential
shifts in technology -- from the rise of Windows and the early Internet to search, gaming, devices, and now one of the most profound platform transitions yet: AI.” He also noted his appreciation
for those he has worked with.
Mehdi -- the latest of many senior Microsoft executives to depart -- follows Rajesh Jha, who oversees the Windows and Office product groups. Jha will retire next
month.
As examples, The Information cited Charlie Bell, who led Microsoft’s 10,000-person security division earlier this year and moved into an independent contributor role, and former
Xbox CEO Phil Spencer, as well as President Sarah Bond. Spencer and Bond left the company in February.