Microsoft promotes Lees to Mobile Communications Business chief

Following the retirement of longtime Entertainment and Devices president Robbie Bach, Microsoft promoted senior vice president Andrew Lees to the role of Mobile Communications Business president, with Don Mattrick, who supervises the software giant's Xbox gaming and Zune multimedia efforts, named Interactive Entertainment Business president. Lees, a 20-year Microsoft veteran, will continue to oversee mobile product development and marketing efforts--over the course of 2010, he spearheaded the creation of Windows Phone 7, the revamped mobile operating system slated to make its formal introduction on Oct. 11. Mattrick will continue to supervise Xbox, Zune and Mediaroom as well as online and mobile interactive entertainment, manufacturing and supply chain management, which were added to his portfolio when Bach's pending retirement was announced this spring.

Lees will face significant challenges as he attempts to reestablish Microsoft's place in the mobile software marketplace. Its current Windows Mobile operating system continues to fall out of favor among consumers, now representing 11.8 percent of the U.S. smartphone market--down from 14 percent just three months ago--according to recent data published by digital measurement firm comScore. Windows Mobile lags far behind Research In Motion's (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry (39.3 percent of the U.S. smartphone market), Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS (23.8 percent) and Google's Android (17 percent, up 5 percentage points over April 2010).

Microsoft additionally named Kurt DelBlene as president of its Microsoft Office Division, replacing Stephen Elop, who resigned last month to become president and CEO of handset maker Nokia. An 18-year Microsoft veteran, DelBlene will oversee engineering and marketing functions for clients, servers and services for information workers, including Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, Project and Visio, as well as speech technology investments.

For more on the Microsoft promotions:
- read this release

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