Marking the Departure of Sr. VP Brian Valentine

Now that Windows Vista RC1 has shipped, Brian Valentine, Senior Vice President of Windows Core Operating System Division, has decided to move on from Microsoft for a new adventure.

Following the release of Windows Vista RC1 last Friday, Brian announced his resignation from Microsoft in order to pursue a new position at Amazon. Brian has been with Microsoft since 1987, when he began work as an Engineering Manager in the LAN Manager Group.  Most recently he helped lead the development of Windows and was critical in producing our latest version, Windows Vista. 

In his 19 great years at Microsoft, Brian played a central leadership role and his contribution to the success of many Microsoft products is significant and indelible. 

Brian chose to depart the company once he felt Windows Vista was where it needed to be. His confidence in Windows Vista at its current RC1 milestone helped shape his decision.

Windows Vista, of course, is still on track for completion to achieve business availability in November 2006 and broad consumer availability in early 2007.

We wish Brian the best of luck in his new endeavor and he will definitely be missed.