Pavan Davuluri, an alumnus of IIT Madras, has been appointed as the new head of Microsoft Windows and Surface, marking another Indian assuming a leadership position in a major tech company, akin to figures like Google’s Sundar Pichai and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella. With over 23 years of experience at Microsoft, Davuluri played a significant role in collaborative projects with Qualcomm and AMD, particularly in the development of processors for Surface devices.
Davuluri succeeds longtime product chief Panos Panay, who departed to join Amazon last year. Previously, Davuluri oversaw the Surface group, while Mikhail Parakhin led the Windows department. With the departure of Parakhin and Panay, Davuluri now assumes responsibility for both the Windows and Surface departments.
In an internal memo from Rajesh Jha, Microsoft’s head of experiences and devices, obtained by The Verge, the reorganization aims to adopt a holistic approach to device and experience development in the “AI era.” Davuluri’s leadership is expected to facilitate collaboration between teams working on Windows, devices, and artificial intelligence.
The memo outlined, “Pavan Davuluri will lead this team and continue to report to me. Shilpa Ranganathan and Jeff Johnson and their teams will report directly to Pavan. The Windows team will continue to work closely with the Microsoft AI team on AI, silicon, and experiences.”
Additionally, the memo highlighted Microsoft’s ambition to develop consumer AI products and welcomed Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of Google DeepMind and former CEO of Inflection AI, who recently joined as CEO of the new AI team.
The reorganization underscores Microsoft’s commitment to innovation and strategic alignment in the evolving landscape of technology. With Davuluri at the helm, Microsoft anticipates further advancements in its Windows and Surface divisions, in sync with the demands of the AI-driven era.