The man who is often seen as the ‘father of the Xbox,’ Microsoft’s erstwhile chief experience officer, J Allard, has confirmed the rumours that surfaced earlier in the week, indicating he would be leaving Microsoft.
Allard still looks a bit like Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor
Allard’s departure, alongside that of Microsoft’s president of entertainment and devices, Robbie Bach, was made official by Microsoft yesterday evening. Allard’s departure follows the cancellation of Microsoft’s tablet device project, known to those who’d taken an interest as the Courier. While he doesn’t expressly mention the device in his goodbye note, ZDNet has it from sources within Microsoft that the cancellation of the project was a contributing factor to his eventual resignation.
Allard’s note attempts to allay, as much as possible, the raft of rumours that had sprung up following the word that he would no longer be working with Microsoft. According to the note itself,
“In response to the curiosity, no chairs were thrown, no ultimatums served, I am not moving to Cupertino or Mountain View, I did not take a courier job and I require no assistance finding the door. I do know that I’m going to help a couple of friends get their startups going (e.g. The Clymb), I’m planning some races (by foot, bike and off-road trucks), and I’m going to put some energy into my passion for design, the arts and philanthropy … If, at the next juncture, I decide to join a corporate tribe again, this place will definitely top my list.”
So, it seems as though there aren’t any hard feelings between Allard and Microsoft, though his departure comes at roughly the same time as a “shake up” of Microsoft entertainment divisions. If nothing else, we’ll be curious to see just where Allard ends up, what start ups he throws in with and what comes of them.
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