It’s the end of an era
It’s been an interesting week for Microsoft Surface. For a product lineup that aimed to reinvent its own industry, it’s been shaken up way more than usual. There was a big product launch this week with four new Surface PCs announced, but that wasn’t even in the top two Surface stories.
The biggest was that the man who has been the face of Surface for over a decade, Panos Panay, was announced to be leaving Microsoft just three days before the event. Shortly after, reports started appearing that Panay was not only headed to Amazon but that Microsoft was killing various Surface product lines, like Duo, Studio, and Headphones.
So when we finally got to the product launch this week, everything felt different, and everybody here knew it. It felt like the disruptive Surface brand we’ve all come to know, love, and respect was gone.
Panay had been the face of Surface for years, steadily rising through the ranks to become in charge of both Windows and Surface at Microsoft. He’s delivered a keynote at every hardware launch for around a decade, and the word « pumped » has become synonymous at Microsoft with his presentations. He’s recognized for his energy, enthusiasm, and passion for the products he’s showing off.
So when it was announced that he was leaving, effective immediately and just three days before a product launch, it was shocking. Love him or hate him, this was a surprising change. There were statements from Rajesh Jha (EVP of Experiences and Devices) and CEO Satya Nadella, but they were short, with Nadella only saying that the company remained « steadfast and convicted in our strategy » and expressing faith in Yusuf Mehdi, who will now lead Windows and Surface.
It’s clear that Panay didn’t walk into Nadella’s office Monday morning and quit since succession plans were outlined in the press release. Still, what happened?
Reports started coming in soon after. The word is that Panay is heading to Amazon to work on Alexa devices. However, another report said that Microsoft was killing much of what Surface stood for, including niche lines like the Surface Duo and Studio, along with peripherals like the Surface Headphones.
