Microsoft’s Consumer Chief Marketing Officer Yusuf Mehdi Announces His Departure

Yusuf Medhi, Executive Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft, announced yesterday that he will leave the company after 35 years. The Microsoft veteran has yet to reveal what he’s planning to do next, but he said in an internal note he published on LinkedIn that he will help CEO Satya Nadella and Chief Marketing Officer Takeshi Numoto to “reimagine Windows for the agentic era” throughout the next fiscal year.

“I’ve had the privilege of being a part of some of the most consequential shifts in technology – from the rise of Windows and the early Internet, to search, gaming, devices, and now one of the most profound platform transitions yet: AI,” Mehdi wrote. “But while the products and platforms have been remarkable, the most meaningful part of this journey has always been the people. The teams I’ve worked alongside, learned from, built with, and grown with are what have made this experience so special.”

Mehdi first joined Microsoft back in 1992 as Director of Product Management, Internet Explorer and Windows. He later worked on Bing and MSN, Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Division (you may remember him probably spending too much time showcasing Xbox One TV features back in 2013), and the company’s Windows and Devices Group before being promoted to Consumer Chief Marketing Officer in 2018.

“We are in the middle of an incredibly important moment for Microsoft and for our customers. With that in mind, and in alignment with Satya and Takeshi, I will work through the next fiscal year to help reimagine Windows for the agentic era, grow Microsoft 365 services, and bring our One Copilot vision to life,” Mehdi said in his note.

The upcoming departure of Mehdi follows a recent reorg that will result in Experience + Devices executive vice president Rajesh Jha retiring in the middle of the year. As part of these leadership changes, Jeff Teper, who is overseeing the development of apps and agents for the AI era, has been promoted to executive vice president. Sumit Chauhan and Kirk Koenigsbauer have also both been promoted to president.