Top Microsoft Executives Replaced In Major AI Overhaul: Report

Microsoft's new security boss, Hayete Gallot, who assumed the role in February, has replaced several senior executives who reported to former security chief Charlie Bell as part of the company's AI overhaul, according to a report by The Information citing unnamed sources. At least one departure and one replacement could be independently verified by NDTV. Microsoft has declined to comment on the report. The former security boss, Bell is still at Microsoft and has since taken on a new role around engineering quality.

Microsoft is the largest cybersecurity software seller in the world.

Gallot is reportedly prioritizing AI-powered tools such as Microsoft Security Copilot, products that scan code for vulnerabilities and help companies monitor their AI agents. In her new role, Gallot is an executive vice president reporting to CEO Satya Nadella. Gallot also reportedly cut hundreds of roles as part of the broader layoffs at Microsoft, emphasizing the need for "clarity, conviction, and focus".

Earlier this month Microsoft announced that it would lay off 4,800 workers or 2.1 per cent of its workforce, as part of AI restructuring.

Xbox, the gaming division of Microsoft, has been the worst affected by the company-wide lay-offs with 3,200 people from the division being asked to leave. Asha Sharma, the CEO of Xbox who also happened to join the company in February is said to have planned and executed the layoffs which she dubbed the "Xbox reset."

"The entire industry is getting reimagined from the ground up," Gallot wrote in an internal Microsoft memo, per the report. "And it will reward the companies that see the shift early, make the hard choices, and execute with discipline. A few months ago, we made those choices. Now we must execute."

Joy Chik and Shawn Bice, two prominent senior technology executives are reported to have left along with six others from the leadership team. Chik has spent close to three decades at Microsoft, while Bice spent four years at the Bill Gates-and-Paul Allen founded company behind the fabled Windows operating system. Bice's departure from Microsoft is confirmed from his LinkedIn profile and shows that he joined AWS (Amazon Web Services) in May.

Also read: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's Sharp Warning for Companies Using AI

Return To Redmond

Gallot is a Microsoft veteran, having served 16 years before she left in 2024 to join Google as the president of Google Cloud's customer experience.

Gallot joined the Redmond headquartered Microsoft in 2009, in a strategy and business development role. In 2024, she was a corporate vice president working on selling products in a variety of categories, including security, before leaving for Google.

Gallot's new hires include another Microsoft veteran and returnee Naseem Tuffaha who's joined as corporate vice president, as confirmed from his LinkedIn profile.  Tuffaha spent over 18 years at Microsoft before leaving in 2022. The other high-profile hire by Gallot is the Indian-origin Rajesh Sundaram, a veteran of NetApp and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

"She brings an ethos that combines product building with value realization for customers, which is critical right now," Nadella said in the post in February while announcing her return to the company. "We have great momentum in security, including progress with Security Copilot agents, strong Purview adoption, and continued customer growth, and we will build on this," The India-born Microsoft CEO had added.