Panos Panay is officially getting pumped with a new company: Amazon.
Last week, Panay announced that after 19 years at Microsoft running Surface and eventually Windows, he would be leaving the company. It was a shock to the industry, especially since the executive had previously talked about being excited to talk about the future of both Surface and Windows at the company’s September event — an event that he ended up not attending.
Immediately after the announcement, rumors swirled that Panay was actually leaving the company for Amazon to take over management of Alexa and Echo, a group that was currently headed up by Dave Limp who was expected to retire. After about a week of waiting for an official announcement, we finally know for sure — Panay is officially joining Amazon.
In a blog post, Amazon has officially announced that Panay is joining the company as its new Devices & Services leader when Dave Limp retires “later this year.” Jassy says that Panay will be starting at the company at the end of October and work with Limp through the transition process. Panay will report directly to Jassy.
You can read Jassy’s full note about the move below:
Quick note to share that Panos Panay will be joining Amazon to lead our Devices & Services business (D&S), reporting to me and joining S-Team.
Panos has spent the last 19+ years at Microsoft, where he was most recently EVP and Chief Product Officer, leading the Windows + Devices division. Before this latest role, Panos held a variety of leadership positions, including Corporate VP for Microsoft Devices, as well as GM of Surface and PC Hardware, where he drove the creation and introduction of the Surface product line. As a strong product builder and inventor who has deep experience in both hardware and integrated services, Panos will be a great addition to our D&S organization moving forward.
Panos will start at the end of October, and Dave Limp will work with him over the next couple of months to ensure a smooth transition. I remain quite excited about the invention happening and businesses that we’re building in D&S, and look forward to working with Panos.
Andy
This is a big win for Amazon. Panay was instrumental in making Microsoft’s Surface lineup into what it is today. It will be interesting to see what the executive brings to the table now that he controls the future of Alexa and Echo.
I’m personally pumped to see Panay take the stage at the company’s next event — if it actually streams it! Amazon rarely streams an event which is odd considering that the company owns Twitch.
