Microsoft’s newly minted Commercial CEO Judson Althoff has reorganized his leadership team just months after his October promotion, elevating four executives to senior vice president roles as the company races to capitalize on AI adoption, according to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider.Althoff, who took the commercial CEO position to free up overall CEO Satya Nadella for more technical work, told employees the company needs to “become faster, flatter, and more agile” in how it operates. The restructuring comes as Microsoft navigates what Nadella has called a “tectonic AI platform shift” while dealing with slower-than-expected Azure cloud growth that’s pushed shares down 15% in 2026.
Four executives elevated as AI reshapes customer demands
The promotions include Deb Cupp as EVP and chief revenue officer of global enterprise sales, tasked with handling Microsoft’s most strategic customer accounts. Mala Anand becomes EVP and chief customer experience officer, overseeing industry solutions delivery and customer support. Nick Parker steps up to EVP and chief business officer of worldwide sales and solutions, while Ralph Haupter takes on EVP and chief revenue officer for small and medium enterprises.All four will report directly to Althoff, who joined Microsoft from Oracle in 2013 and built the company’s Customer and Partner Solutions division over nine years before his recent promotion.
New operating model tightens customer feedback loop
In the memo, Althoff emphasized Microsoft’s shift to an AI-first company requires removing friction and empowering people to make faster decisions. He highlighted the company’s “commercial cohort operating model” that brings engineering, marketing, sales, and operations together to ensure product development aligns with customer needs during what he calls the “Frontier Transformation” era.A Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC the expanded leadership roles allow Althoff more time to focus on commercial product strategy while keeping “the feedback loop between customers and product decisions as small as possible.” The company says this rapid response is critical as customers expect AI capabilities to materialize in their businesses faster than ever before.The restructuring follows Microsoft’s pattern of using CEO titles for major business units, including gaming chief Phil Spencer and AI chief Mustafa Suleyman, as Nadella concentrates on datacenter buildout, systems architecture, and product innovation.
Read Microsoft’s Commercial CEO’s full memo
Commercial business update and leadership announcementWe have all been rapidly changing how we work as an AI-first company, and we are evolving how we operate to reflect the same. We must become faster, flatter, and more agile in our operating rhythms, empowering our people with the authority to make decisions and removing the friction for them to do so.Our commercial cohort operating model has illustrated how effective we can be as a company. The cohort forums are intellectually honest sessions aimed at tightening the feedback loop between the voice of the customer and our product ethos. This approach brings engineering, marketing, sales, services, and operations together across the topics that matter most for our business, ensuring that our product ambitions accrue to our customers’ needs in this era of Frontier Transformation. In the runup to Ignite, we collaborated through this process to formulate our Intelligence + Trust strategy and pave the way forward for Copilot, our IQ and developer platforms, and Agent 365.With this new commercial model established, I will be asking more of our MCAPS leadership to run the business in service of our customers and partners. In recognition of their increased scope and responsibility, I am pleased to share the following role changes to Executive Vice President, which will continue reporting directly to me:Deb Cupp is our EVP & Chief Revenue Officer, Global Enterprise. She will continue leading our global enterprise sales organization.Mala Anand is our EVP & Chief Customer Experience Officer, bringing together our full spectrum of services including Industry Solutions Delivery, Customer Success, and Support—across Customer Experience & Success.Nick Parker is our EVP & Chief Business Officer of Worldwide Sales & Solutions (WSS). His team leads Commercial Solution Areas, co-engineering, and sales teams including enterprise, industry, partner, and devices.Ralph Haupter is our EVP & Chief Revenue Officer, Small, Medium Enterprises & Channel (SME&C) focused on earning increased share down market through agentic selling and scaling with our Cloud Solution Provider partners.Please join me in congratulating Deb, Mala, Nick, and Ralph.Kim Akers will continue in her current capacity as our Chief Operating Officer, and Takeshi Numoto remains our Chief Marketing Officer, also reporting directly to me.I am inspired by how these teams and the cohort operating model are strengthening our core values of customer obsession and One Microsoft. With an increased focus on the commercial business across the company, I look forward to leading our customers, partners, and Microsoft through Frontier Transformation alongside all of you.Judson
