Microsoft product chief Panos Panay departs: Recalling his achievements
Microsoft's executive vice president and chief product officer, Panos Panay is set to leave the company after 19 years of tenure. Panay joined Microsoft in 2004 and concentrated on developing the rapidly expanding lineup of hardware products for the tech giant. The Surface computing device lineup is among the most successful products under his leadership. Panay's departure note comes two days ahead of Microsoft's preparation for the Surface Device Keynote on September 21. Here's a look at his achievements.
I'm forever grateful for my time at Microsoft: Panay
Panos Panay spearheaded the Surface computing device line-up at Microsoft, with some successes and some underperforming products like the Surface Duo and Surface Neo hybrid devices. In a post on X, he wrote, "After 19 incredible years at Microsoft, I've decided to turn the page and write the next chapter. I'm forever grateful for my time at Microsoft and the amazing people I had the honor to make products with."
Take a look at the post
Panay received an MBA from Pepperdine University
Panay led the vision and strategy for Windows + Devices, which included the development and design of Windows, design, supply chain, manufacturing of Microsoft hardware, and more. He holds an MBA from Pepperdine University, and a B.Sc. from California State University, Northridge. Before Microsoft, Panay was responsible for the development of electromechanical devices at NMB Technologies in Michigan from 2000 to 2004.
Panay's potential move to Amazon
Although Panay's next destination hasn't been formally announced, there are suggestions he may be headed to Amazon to build the next chapter for Alexa smart assistant and the ecosystem of Amazon's Echo devices. A month ago, Amazon stated that David Limp, senior vice president for services and devices, announced his retirement plans. The company did not reveal a replacement for the position at that time.
Yusuf Mehdi to lead the charge now
Following Panay's departure, Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Modern Life, Search, and Devices at Microsoft, will take over the role. Mehdi is a long-time Microsoft executive, who has worked under three CEOs and has experience managing Internet Explorer, Microsoft Windows, and Bing. His recent success stories include a reconfigured Edge web browser integrating AI, the Bing search chatbot, and an expanding suite of functionality. Mehdi is expected to take the stage at the upcoming Surface Device Keynote.
Surface Device keynote event set for September 21
With Mehdi taking over as chief product officer, Microsoft's vision for Surface and Windows product lines will be unveiled at the Surface device keynote later this week. Additionally, the Microsoft 365 CoPilot tool, built on large language models (LLMs) to integrate smart functionality within apps and services, is expected to be released later this year for Microsoft 365 apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
