Brandon Watson, the leader of the Developer Experience team for Windows Phone 7, is leaving Microsoft for Amazon. Watson had worked for and left Microsoft in the past, and it isn’t surprising that he left a second time, considering that his new job at Amazon will see him serve as the Director of the Kindle Cross Platform team.
While at Microsoft, Brian Watson worked on developer marketing and developer platform products. The details of his departure were first leaked on twitter:
Huh? Where did @BrandonWatson go?
— Ryan Lowdermilk (@ryanlowdermilk) February 3, 2012
ZDNet later confirmed the change:
Watson confirmed his departure via e-mail, telling me “it was a hard decision, but the opportunity placed in front of me that was too big to pass up.”
So far, no replacement for Watson has been appointed. I’ve asked Microsoft for comment on the company’s plans here and have not received word back.
Watson’s departure follows the lead of Former Windows Corporate Vice President of Strategy Mike Nash, who left Microsoft back in February of 2010. It’s telling that Amazon has chosen to headhunt from Microsoft’s latest and most promising attempt at breaking into the smartphone market.
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