REDMOND, Wash., March 25, 2003 — Microsoft Corp. today announced it has promoted Kevin Johnson to group vice president of the Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Services Group (SMSG).
Johnson, an 11-year Microsoft®
veteran, will lead a team of worldwide sales professionals managing all of Microsoft’s sales, marketing and service initiatives, customer and partner programs, and product support and consulting services. He remains a member of Microsoft’s Business Leadership Team and will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer.
“Kevin has provided strong leadership in delivering increased value through solutions to customers, improved the overall customer and partner experience, and grown a talented team of sales, marketing and service professionals,” Ballmer said. “Kevin exemplifies the kind of dedication, focus and passion for customers that is essential to this crucial leadership position.”
Johnson will fill the position left by Orlando Ayala, who has taken on an important new role as group vice president of Microsoft’s Worldwide Small & Mid Market Solutions and Partners (SMS & P) group, helping the company realize the significant opportunity for growth in the largely untapped small and medium-sized business segment. Previously, Johnson was senior vice president of Microsoft Americas, where he led efforts to expand and align the company’s U.S., Canada and Latin America sales teams around 12 key vertical markets, driving a more tailored, solutions-based approach to helping customers achieve business agility.
“Several years ago, Orlando and I recognized that Microsoft had an opportunity to expand its focus on selling solutions — software and related technologies that meet specific business needs,” Johnson said. “We’ve worked hard to implement this approach in the Americas region, and I look forward to the opportunity to build on this vision so it benefits our global customer base.”
Johnson has a deep understanding of the company’s customer and partner base, having worked in a variety of areas in Microsoft’s SMSG. Before his role as senior vice president of Microsoft Americas, leading the company’s team of more than 6,000 sales, marketing and services professionals in the United States, Canada and Latin America, Johnson served as vice president of Product Support Services (PSS), where he was responsible for worldwide strategy and delivery of technical support services across multiple customer segments. Under his direction, Microsoft re-engineered its support offerings, expanded the use of the Internet as a service delivery vehicle, and developed a more robust support infrastructure to serve customers and industry partners. Before that, Johnson was general manager of Enterprise Services, where he strengthened the company’s enterprise support and services capabilities, and was regional systems marketing manager in the U.S. field sales organization.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.asp .
