Microsoft shifts communications oversight to Brad Smith

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is restructuring the company’s communications department, moving the function from the marketing group to the corporate, external, and legal affairs organization. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s Vice Chair and President, will now oversee communications, a role previously managed by Chief Marketing Officer Takeshi Numoto.

The shift follows the announcement that longtime communications chief Frank Shaw will depart the company at the end of the year. Brent Colburn, Vice President for Global Public Affairs, has been named interim communications leader and will report to Smith. Colburn, who had previously planned to leave the company in October, will now remain through December but is not a candidate for the permanent position.

In an internal memo, Nadella described the change as a response to an increasingly fragmented and noisy media environment. He expressed a desire to “build in public,” aiming to empower employees—such as engineers and partners who are “closest to the work”—to play a larger role in shaping Microsoft’s public voice and storytelling strategy.