Microsoft loses key executives

Microsoft lost two key employees in recent days, one who has led several MSN efforts and another who was a top developer for the Office unit.

Don Gagne, director of development for Microsoft Office, plans to leave the company in December to pursue a motor racing hobby. The 11-year Microsoft veteran gave his notice last week, company spokesman Lou Gellos said Tuesday, confirming a report about Gagne's resignation in a blog posting.

Gellos said Gagne's departure, which comes a month after Microsoft announced a major reorganisation, is amicable. The company has yet to find a replacement for him but expects a smooth leadership transition, Gellos added.

Gagne is highly respected at Microsoft with a reputation for no-nonsense leadership, according to the Mini-Microsoft blog.

"This is a super huge loss for Microsoft and a colossal loss for Office," an anonymous writer said in an email posted on Mini-Microsoft, a blog about Microsoft's restructuring efforts. "It's been a while since I've been on a team with Don, but he is an engineer's engineer, a voice for reason, and a champion of what is best for Microsoft's customers. While some Microsofties [sic] scream and preen and use politics to advance their little agenda, Don has always used quiet reason, common sense, and intellect to make the best possible decisions."

The other executive leaving Microsoft is Hadi Partovi, general manager of the MSN portal. Partovi plans to start his own company, but will remain with Microsoft for a few weeks as a replacement is sought, Gellos said.

Partovi's resignation, first reported in the Seattle Times, comes about a month after Microsoft initiated a companywide reorganisation that folded the MSN unit into the Windows division of the company.

Start-ups have lured Partovi, 32, away from Microsoft before. He left the company in 1999 to start telecommunications company Tellme after playing a central role in the browser wars against Netscape Communications at Microsoft. He rejoined Microsoft in 2002 to help shepherd several MSN initiatives including MSN Music, Microsoft's answer to Apple's iTunes music store. He also has overseen the company's Start.com news reader service.

Microsoft has confirmed other significant departures in recent weeks. Ward Cunningham, inventor of the wiki, left Microsoft recently to join a non-profit organisation dedicated to open source software. Jim Allchin, the company's chief Windows architect, announced his retirement at the same time that Microsoft detailed its big reorganisation.

Gagne and Partovi are important contributors at Microsoft, but their resignations are just part of the regular course of business, Gellos said. "When you have a company of 60,000 employees, people are coming and going all the time," he said.