Microsoft Loses CFO as Greg Maffei Leaves for Privately Held Startup
Greg Maffei's departure as Microsoft's chief financial officer is seen as a significant loss for the company, particularly after he played a crucial role in negotiating recent equity investments and acquisitions. The departure has raised industry analysts' eyebrows, given Maffei's popularity among startup companies, where he is being courted. Maffei will be joining Worldwide Fiber, a Vancouver-based startup that aims to sell optical fibre network capacity to telecommunications companies.
Key Takeaways:
- Greg Maffei, Microsoft's chief financial officer, has resigned to become the chief executive of Worldwide Fiber, a privately held Canadian optical fibre network startup company.
- Maffei's departure is seen as a significant loss for Microsoft, particularly due to his involvement in recent equity investments and acquisitions.
- Worldwide Fiber aims to sell optical fibre network capacity to telecommunications companies.
- John Conners, a senior executive with almost 11 years of experience at Microsoft, has been named to replace Maffei.
- Conners is currently responsible for worldwide sales to businesses.
- Bob Herbold, Microsoft's chief operating officer, praised Maffei for his contributions and the financial management team he left behind.
- Microsoft's shares closed at a new high of $117.09/16, giving the company a market value of over $600bn for the first time.
- This placed Microsoft's market capitalization at almost $100bn more than General Electric, the second most valuable US company.
Statistics:
- Microsoft's market value: over $600bn
- Market capitalization at new high: $600bn
- Market capitalization difference with General Electric: almost $100bn
- Share price at new high: $117.09/16
- Timeframe for new high: prior to the announcement of Maffei's departure
- General Electric's market capitalization:-$500bn
- Seniority of John Conners at Microsoft: 11 years
Sources:
- The Financial Times
- Bloomberg