Microsoft’s Office and Teams chief is leaving
Ryan Roslansky, who spent nearly 18 years at LinkedIn and Microsoft and served as LinkedIn CEO until recently, is leaving Microsoft. His exit prompts another internal leadership reshuffle that moves Office and Teams responsibilities into Microsoft’s Copilot organization.
Why It Matters
Roslansky led major parts of Microsoft’s productivity strategy during a critical period of AI integration, and his departure coincides with a reorganization that places Office and Teams under the Copilot, Agents, and Platform group — a structural shift affecting Microsoft’s flagship productivity products.
Key Facts
- Tenure: Nearly 18 years at LinkedIn and Microsoft
- Previous role: Former CEO of LinkedIn (until recently)
- Recent roles: Promoted to head of Office last year; took control of Microsoft Teams earlier this year
- Reorganization: Office and Teams teams moved to Charles Lamanna’s Copilot, Agents, and Platform (CAP) organization
- Other moves: Chief design officer Jon Friedman now reports to Copilot chief Jacob Andreou; LinkedIn CEO Dan Shapero continues and reports directly to Satya Nadella.
Ryan Roslansky is leaving Microsoft after nearly 18 years working at LinkedIn and Microsoft, the company said in internal messages and his own note to staff. Roslansky had been LinkedIn’s CEO before being asked last year by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to help lead the future of Microsoft 365; earlier this year he also assumed control of Microsoft Teams. Nadella wrote in an internal memo that Roslansky’s team had laid important product, engineering, and design foundations for the next phase of the company’s work.
Microsoft is shifting the Office and Teams teams into the Copilot, Agents, and Platform (CAP) organization led by Charles Lamanna as part of the reorganization that follows Roslansky’s departure. The move represents another shuffle for Office leadership after the retirement of Rajesh Jha earlier this year. Microsoft’s chief design officer, Jon Friedman, will report to Copilot chief Jacob Andreou. Dan Shapero, who was appointed LinkedIn CEO earlier this year, will remain in that role and report directly to Nadella.
Roslansky said the decision to leave was difficult and tied to personal considerations: he wrote that he would need to be based full time in Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters to lead the next phase effectively, but his family and life are in the Bay Area. His note reflected on his time at LinkedIn — from an early product-manager role to becoming CEO in 2020, overseeing membership growth and revenue expansion — and on joining Microsoft’s M365 efforts amid rapid AI changes.
His departure comes a week after Microsoft announced its new Copilot initiative and about a month after Roslansky warned publicly that fully AI-generated documents could create an “ocean of sameness.” The company said leadership changes will put the productivity suite and Teams under managers who are positioned to take the next phase of work forward.
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