Microsoft exec Pieter Knook jumps ship, joins Vodafone
Vodafone Group PLC will hire Pieter Knook, Microsoft’s head of the mobile phone group as its Director of Internet Services.
Pieter, age 49, is a Senior Vice President at Microsoft and has been with the company for 17 years. He will take his new role in the UK mobile operator Vodafone on March 10. “I am very excited to join Vodafone Group,” said Pieter. “I look forward to serving Vodafone’s customers with innovative internet based services, as well as bringing new software and services expertise to a company that is renowned for its worldwide customer reach, mobility offerings and its focus on high quality execution.”
This in the wake of reports that Microsoft will be “reshuffling” its executive team on Thursday. A source familiar with the situation said to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the likely replacement would be another Microsoft veteran, Andrew Lees, currently with the company’s server and tools group. From PCWorld:
There will be other staff changes at Microsoft, with three other vice presidents expected to leave in the coming months, the WSJ report said. It named Michael Sievert, currently in charge of Windows marketing, and Steve Berkowitz, a manager of the company’s online business, as among those who will leave.
Pieter’s new boss will be Frank Rovekamp, Global Chief Marketing Officer for Vodafone. Rovekamp feels that the new position calls for a “world class leader of considerable stature and experience.” He says of Pieter, “We are delighted that Pieter is joining us to help transform the customer experience through the mobile internet, meet growing customer demand for web services accessed from mobile devices and drive revenues within our Mobile Plus strategy. Pieter has an impressive track record across technical, sales, marketing and business management disciplines covering the US, Asia and Europe.”
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