Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is moving the company’s HR chief, Kathleen Hogan, into a new role focused on corporate strategy. Announced in an internal memo to Microsoft employees this morning, Hogan will report directly to Nadella and be responsible for strategy and transformation.
Hogan has been at Microsoft for more than 20 years and spent the past decade as the company’s chief people officer. She helped usher in a new work culture at Microsoft and took on the head of HR role shortly after Nadella became CEO in 2014. Now, Hogan has to steer strategy through the rapid changes of Microsoft’s AI era.
Microsoft hasn’t had someone in charge of corporate strategy for quite some time, so this is an interesting change. I’d have to think back to the Mark Penn and Steve Ballmer days to find a role that’s somewhat similar to what Hogan is taking on. Penn was responsible for strategy across Microsoft’s consumer-facing businesses, and he was behind the company’s anti-Google “Scroogled” effort before departing in 2015. I don’t think we’re going to see anything similar from Hogan, though.
“[Hogan] is recognized externally as a consequential HR leader transforming culture and the world of work,” says Nadella in his memo. “Kathleen will work across the senior leadership team as we chart this next phase of our transformation, which requires both interpreting the outside and redefining the inside.”
I’m assuming “interpreting the outside” refers to technological change that AI is having on Microsoft, alongside some of the political winds that are sweeping across the US right now. Hogan already had her work cut out for her managing Microsoft’s various cultural changes over the past 10 years, alongside the company’s priority changes and many rounds of layoffs.
Those layoffs have been particularly painful recently, as Microsoft has been enacting more performance-based cuts under Hogan’s watch. Microsoft employees that I’ve spoken to in recent weeks have expressed concerns that the cuts seem to be happening regularly and without the transparency you’d normally see with Microsoft’s typical approach to layoffs.
It doesn’t look like Hogan has been sidelined here, though. “Kathleen and I have been discussing this transition and succession planning for some time,” says Nadella. Amy Coleman has been overseeing HR operations for multiple parts of Microsoft over the past four years, and she’s now being promoted to chief people officer. Coleman will also join Microsoft’s senior leadership team and report directly to Nadella.
With Chris Young, head of business development, strategy, and Microsoft’s M12 fund leaving at the end of the month, Coleman’s promotion will fill the senior leadership team spot that’s opening up. Microsoft isn’t sharing anything more about Hogan’s new role today, but as the software giant gets bigger and faces more complicated choices, I’m certain Hogan’s experience will be key to making sure people are in the right roles as the company gets ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary and looks ahead to its next 50 years.
Microsoft’s new Xbox Copilot will act as an AI gaming coach
Microsoft is getting ready to launch an AI-powered Copilot for Gaming next month, as the company increasingly focuses on bringing AI experiences to Xbox. Announced last week, the Copilot for Gaming feature will be part of the Xbox mobile app at first and is designed to be a second screen assistant or companion.
During a press briefing ahead of Microsoft’s announcement, the company demonstrated some prototype ways this Copilot for Gaming could operate, like helping you select an Overwatch 2 hero that assists your team or guiding you through crafting in Minecraft. But the demos felt very much like concepts instead of reality. I’m not entirely sure what Microsoft will actually have ready in the Xbox mobile app in April, but I suspect it’s probably a lot more limited than being able to coach you during a game.
Microsoft is going to be iterating based on feedback, but I think it’s going to be a while before we see Copilot meaningfully show up on Xbox as an AI gaming coach that guides you through games and helps you avoid making mistakes.
Microsoft is also at the Game Developers Conference this week talking about its AI efforts for Xbox and gaming in general. There are a bunch of interesting sessions, and it feels like Microsoft is getting a lot more comfortable talking about how it’s going to use AI across Xbox following its reveal of the Muse model that can generate gameplay. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a steady flow of AI-related Xbox announcements in the months ahead.
- Microsoft accidentally wipes out Copilot in its latest Windows 11 update. Microsoft introduced a bug (or a feature, depending on your stance on AI) with a Windows 11 update this week that has been uninstalling Copilot from PCs. While the bug lasted a few days, Microsoft was quick to fix it earlier today, and affected devices “are being returned to their original state.” Happy Copiloting.
- Xbox 360 consoles can now be hacked with just a USB key. If you still have an Xbox 360 lying around, you can now use a USB key to get homebrew apps and games running on the console. A new software-only exploit known as BadUpdate lets you bypass Microsoft’s Hypervisor protections to run unsigned code and games without having to open up an Xbox 360 and mod it. There are some limitations, and you’ll need to run it every time you boot your console, but it’s a surprise mod that just requires some time and patience.
- AI summaries are coming to Notepad (the app!). Microsoft has gradually been adding more and more AI features to Notepad, and the latest it’s testing is AI-powered summaries. Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev channels can now highlight a chunk of text in Notepad and right-click to summarize it. I’m not sure what I’d use this for myself, but if it handles summarizing log files well, it could be a useful addition. Personally, I’d like to see Notepad remain as lightweight as possible, and the day it takes more than a second to load is the day I switch to something else.
- WinRing0: why Windows is flagging your PC monitoring and fan control apps as a threat. If you’ve been noticing Windows Defender flagging fan control apps or other bespoke PC software lately, then it’s probably down to an old and vulnerable WinRing0 driver. My colleague Sean Hollister has spoken to a bunch of app developers about the complicated situation, after Microsoft briefly blocked the WinRing0 driver that so many apps rely on.
- 1,000 Xbox Play Anywhere games. Originally launched in 2016, Xbox Play Anywhere lets you purchase an Xbox game once and play it across consoles and PCs. There are now more than 1,000 Xbox Play Anywhere titles, and this feature will be a key part of Microsoft’s merging of Xbox and Windows. VP of next gen Jason Ronald says “many many more” Play Anywhere titles are on the way.
- Fortnite is coming to Windows on Arm. I’ve covered the poor gaming situation on Qualcomm-powered Copilot Plus PCs multiple times in Notepad in the past, but it looks like there are signs of hope for better compatibility. Fortnite is coming to Windows on Arm devices later this year, and Epic Games is even teaming up with Qualcomm to add support for Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) on Arm-based laptops. EAC is used by a variety of games, so that might help them run emulated on Qualcomm’s devices. There’s still going to be a big question about the performance of games on Arm, though.
- Windows 11 now lets you easily type with an Xbox controller. A new gamepad keyboard is starting to roll out to Windows 11 users. It improves the onscreen keyboard in Windows 11, making it a lot easier to navigate with an Xbox controller and type into text fields throughout the operating system. It’s part of a number of Microsoft efforts to make Windows more handheld-friendly, ahead of the Project Kennan device later this year.
- The Surface Pro 11 no longer ships with a charger in some markets. Microsoft has stopped including its Surface Pro power supply in markets across Europe to comply with EU initiatives to reduce e-waste. Because the Surface Pro is sold without a keyboard, it’s technically a tablet under EU rules, so you’ll now have to buy a charger separately. Laptops are currently exempt from the EU’s USB-C charging mandate until next year, but this Surface Pro 11 change has also meant the company has slimmed down its packaging after removing the charger.
- Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Joystick is now available. Microsoft is now selling a $29.99 Xbox Adaptive Joystick exclusively through its online store that is designed to meet the unique needs of gamers with limited mobility. The joystick has customizable buttons and optional 3D-printable accessories that can make its controls easier to use.
- Adobe has new Microsoft 365 Copilot AI agents. Microsoft’s paid Copilot has been in the headlines in recent months as CTOs debate the value of the AI assistant. Now, Adobe is backing Microsoft’s big Copilot focus with its own AI agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot. It includes an Adobe marketing agent that will run inside Teams, PowerPoint, and Word.
- Windows 11 will soon let you know why your PC hardware sucks. Microsoft is working on a new feature in Windows 11 that will help explain how less RAM or a weaker GPU might affect your PC performance. While it’s not the score-based system of the Windows Vista era, a new FAQ section in Windows 11 aims to provide users with answers related to GPU memory, system RAM, and even OS versions.
- The FTC is reportedly moving ahead with a Microsoft antitrust probe. Microsoft only got done with the FTC’s investigation into its Activision Blizzard acquisition less than two years ago, and now it’s facing a big antitrust probe. Bloomberg reports that a probe opened in the final days of the Biden administration is moving ahead under President Donald Trump. The FTC appears to be focused on Microsoft’s AI work and licensing practices that have seen it face similar regulatory oversight elsewhere.
I’m always keen to hear from readers, so please drop a comment here, or you can always reach me at [email protected] if you want to discuss anything else. If you’ve heard about any of Microsoft’s secret projects, you can reach me via email at [email protected] or speak to me confidentially on the Signal messaging app, where I’m tomwarren.01. I’m also tomwarren on Telegram, if you’d prefer to chat there.
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