Microsoft has made big changes to its senior leadership as it prepares for what CEO Satya Nadella calls a “tectonic AI platform shift.” The company has promoted Judson Althoff, currently its executive vice president and chief commercial officer, to the newly created position of CEO of Microsoft’s Commercial Business.
This move is designed to allow Nadella and Microsoft’s engineering leaders to spend more time on technical priorities, such as data centre expansion, systems architecture, AI science, and product innovation, while ensuring the company’s largest business unit runs smoothly. Microsoft earns most of its revenue from commercial customers, making Althoff’s new role one of the most important inside the company.
In an internal memo, Nadella said the promotion would “bring together sales, marketing, operations, and engineering to drive growth and strengthen our position as the partner of choice for AI transformation.” Althoff has led Microsoft’s global sales organisation for nine years and was the architect of Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS), a key driver of the company’s growth.
As part of the reshuffle, Microsoft’s operations team will also report to Althoff, tightening the feedback loop between what customers need and how Microsoft delivers. Takeshi Numoto will continue as Chief Marketing Officer under Althoff, while also reporting directly to Nadella on corporate brand, consumer marketing, and business planning. Carolina Dybeck Happe, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will continue to focus on company-wide transformation while partnering closely with Althoff.
Microsoft has increasingly used CEO titles for the leaders of its biggest divisions, such as Phil Spencer for Microsoft Gaming and Mustafa Suleyman for Microsoft AI. This latest appointment follows that trend but does not signal that Nadella plans to step down as Microsoft’s overall CEO. Instead, it reflects his plan to focus more deeply on high-priority technical work.
“This isn’t just evolution, it’s reinvention, for each of us professionally and for Microsoft,” Nadella wrote in his memo. He urged employees to learn new skills, adopt new ways of working, and stay “close to the metal” to drive innovation.
With Althoff now leading Microsoft’s commercial operations, the company aims to strengthen its relationships with enterprise customers while accelerating its transition into the AI era.
Who is Judson Althoff?
Judson Althoff is the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft’s Commercial Business and one of the company’s most senior leaders. He oversees product strategy, sales, service, support, marketing, operations and revenue growth across more than 120 regional and national subsidiaries worldwide. In October 2025, CEO Satya Nadella elevated him to the newly created CEO role to unify sales, marketing, and operations under one umbrella, freeing Microsoft’s engineering leadership to focus on AI, data centre expansion, systems architecture, and product innovation.
Althoff joined Microsoft in 2013 as President of Microsoft North America before serving as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Commercial Business (2016–2021) and Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer (2021–2025). Before Microsoft, he spent over a decade at Oracle, rising to Senior Vice President, Worldwide Alliances & Channels and Embedded Sales, where he managed more than 25,000 partners globally and drove key revenue initiatives. Earlier he held sales leadership roles at EMC (now Dell Technologies). Since February 2024, he has also served on the Board of Directors of Ecolab.
A graduate of the Illinois Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Althoff is recognised for combining strategic vision with operational execution, making him a pivotal figure in Microsoft’s AI-driven transformation.
