Microsoft Appoints Chris Capossela as Senior Vice President, Consumer Channels and Central Marketing Group

REDMOND, Wash., April 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has appointed Chris Capossela senior vice president of the Consumer Channels and Central Marketing Group. The newly formed Consumer Channels Group brings together Microsoft's Retail, Mobile Operator and Distribution teams into one organization.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)

In his new role, Capossela will report to Kevin Turner and work in close collaboration with Microsoft's OEM, retail, mobile operator and distribution partners to create new business opportunities and deliver exciting consumer experiences through Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox and Office. He will also assume responsibility for Microsoft's marketing, advertising and corporate communications. As announced in March 2011, Mich Mathews, senior vice president of the Central Marketing Group, will retire this summer, making this an opportune moment to bring the Consumer Channels and Central Marketing Group functions under a single leader. Mathews will work with Capossela as he transitions to his new role as chief marketing officer.

Capossela is a 20-year veteran of Microsoft; he previously served as senior vice president in the Microsoft Office Division, responsible for marketing the company's productivity products including Microsoft Office, Office 365, SharePoint, Exchange, Lync, Project and Visio. In this role, he oversaw the launch of Office 2007 and 2010, and its associated server products, as well as the rollout of the Make It Great campaign for Office 2010.

Under his leadership, the Office business grew from the core suite of applications to also include Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, Lync and Office 365, with SharePoint Server becoming the fastest-growing server product in Microsoft's history in 2007. Capossela was also instrumental in ushering Office into the cloud with Office Web Apps and Office 365.

Before joining the Microsoft Office Division, Capossela served in a variety of marketing, technical and field positions, including running the Microsoft Project business, serving as Bill Gates ' speech assistant, and acting as chief of staff to the president of Microsoft EMEA.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.microsoft.com