Microsoft Promotes Kevin Johnson

Zardon · Mar 25, 2003, 10:17 PM

As expected, Kevin Johnson has been named group vice president of Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Services for Microsoft.

Johnson, who has been with the company for 11 years, steps into the slot vacated earlier this month by Orlando Ayala. Ayala, as first reported by CRN, moved to become group vice president of Microsoft's Worldwide Small and Midmarket Solutions and Partners Group early this month.
Most recently, Johnson was senior vice president of Microsoft Americas and had been vice president of Product Support Services before that.

The news was announced internally Tuesday morning. Like Ayala before him, Johnson will report to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

The moves come as Microsoft is mounting an aggressive entry into business applications for small and midsize companies and figuring out how to merge its authorized Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) channel with its broader solution provider channel. Ayala spoke at last week's Convergence 2003 conference in Orlando, reaffirming the company's big committment to the SMB market. Microsoft has earmarked $2 billion to be invested in this potentially hot market over the next few years.

It may take some time for that investment to bear fruit though. Goldman Sachs estimates MBS will lose $325 million this fiscal year.

Microsoft group vice president Jeff Raikes told CRN that the company plans to stay the course. "We're in a fortunate position in that we're able to invest in [the] future. There's obviously a point in time where we'll expect a positive return. But our focus is to create that value, and we'll invest in that," he said

Raikes also noted that the amortization of Great Plains and Navision acquisitions continue. "As those roll off the books, that changes that picture. But even so, I'm still willing to incur some investment. Of course for MBS, relative to its potential, I think that investment is quite reasonable." Barbara Darrow, CRN

Mar 25, 2003, 10:17 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	Microsoft Promotes Kevin Johnson As expected, Kevin Johnson has been named group vice president of Worldwide Sales, Marketing and Services for Microsoft. Johnson, who has been with the company for 11 years, steps into the slot vacated earlier this month by Orlando Ayala. Ayala, as first reported by CRN, moved to become group vice president of Microsoft's Worldwide Small and Midmarket Solutions and Partners Group early this month. Most recently, Johnson was senior vice president of Microsoft Americas and had been vice president of Product Support Services before that. The news was announced internally Tuesday morning. Like Ayala before him, Johnson will report to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The moves come as Microsoft is mounting an aggressive entry into business applications for small and midsize companies and figuring out how to merge its authorized Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) channel with its broader solution provider channel. Ayala spoke at last week's Convergence 2003 conference in Orlando, reaffirming the company's big committment to the SMB market. Microsoft has earmarked $2 billion to be invested in this potentially hot market over the next few years. It may take some time for that investment to bear fruit though. Goldman Sachs estimates MBS will lose $325 million this fiscal year. Microsoft group vice president Jeff Raikes told CRN that the company plans to stay the course. "We're in a fortunate position in that we're able to invest in [the] future. There's obviously a point in time where we'll expect a positive return. But our focus is to create that value, and we'll invest in that," he said Raikes also noted that the amortization of Great Plains and Navision acquisitions continue. "As those roll off the books, that changes that picture. But even so, I'm still willing to incur some investment. Of course for MBS, relative to its potential, I think that investment is quite reasonable." Barbara Darrow, CRN