| Microsoft's top Windows Mobile exec leaves for Vodafone |
Feb. 14, 2008
 Microsoft's Windows Mobile business has lost its top executive. Pieter Knook, an 18-year company veteran who is currently senior vice president of the company's Mobile Communications Business (MCB), will leave on Mar. 10 to become director of Internet services for Vodafone, the carrier says.
 Although a replacement for Knook has not been announced, the Wall Street Journal and professional Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley have both fingered Andrew Lees (right). Formerly a marketing director for HP, Lees has been with Microsoft since 1990. Currently a corporate VP, he runs Microsoft's Server and Tools Marketing and Solutions Group.
Knook also joined Microsoft in 1990, and has since run a wide range of programs across seven business units, according to the software giant. For the last five years, he has been at the helm of Microsoft's mobile business, during which time "Windows Mobile became one of [our] fastest-growing businesses," according to Knook's corporate bio.
Pieter Knook introduced Windows Mobile 6 at the 2007 GSM show
(Click to enlarge)
Knook has been the man on the spot for many major product announcements. From our earlier coverage, for example, he was involved in the introduction of Pocket PC 2003, an alliance with Motorola, the release of Windows CE 5.0, and, most recently, the release of Windows Mobile 6.0 at least year's 3GSM technology show.
Microsoft was widely expected to introduce Windows Mobile 6.1 at this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) -- the new name for 3GSM -- in Barcelona, since the operating system upgrade was already being shown to selected observers in November 2007 at Mobius, a Microsoft-sponsored event in Amsterdam. The new Windows Mobile version didn't make it to MWC, except on a new PDA/Phone, the Advantage X7510 from HTC, which was reportedly required to obscure it from demonstration units.
Meanwhile, it's not known on what terms Knook is leaving Microsoft, but Vodafone and Microsoft apparently have a tight working relationship. Last year, the carrier introduced the Palm Treo 500v, complete with a custom user interface created for it by Microsoft UK.
At Vodafone, Knook will assume a newly created title, director of Internet services. The company said he will be "responsible for delivering new revenue growth around internet, content, and advertising, with a focus on differentiating Vodafone’s services by creating rich and distinctive experiences for customers."
Vodafone describes itself as the world's leading mobile telecommunications company, with a significant presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the United States. It owns approximately 45 percent of the U.S. carrier Verizon.
Further information
In addition to following the links above, you can find an interview with Pieter Knook that appeared when Windows CE 5.0 was released, here. To read Mary Jo Foley's blog entry, see here.
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