Xbox's first chief operating officer, Helen Chiang, is leaving the company today, according to an internal memo seen by The Verge. The departure comes just months after the role was created in July, when Chiang moved from her position as head of Minecraft to take on the newly established COO job.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced the exit in a brief memo, stating simply: "Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today. I'm grateful for her years of service and wish her well." Chiang spent 21 years at Microsoft. Her responsibilities are being divided among other Xbox leaders while the company finalizes its plans for the role.
Inside the Xbox COO shake-up
When Chiang was promoted in July, Sharma described the COO position as a first for Xbox, with "end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services." The role was part of what the company called a major "reset," designed to bring Xbox's various businesses under one operating model and make clearer investment decisions.
The memo about her departure was notably short, and Microsoft refused to discuss the circumstances of her exit. "We don't discuss individual personnel matters," said Kari Perez, Xbox vice president of communications. "We're grateful for Helen's years of service and wish her well." The brevity of the announcement and the immediate redistribution of her duties have led observers to speculate that this was not a voluntary resignation.
- Helen Chiang joined Microsoft 21 years ago and previously led Minecraft before her July promotion to COO.
- The COO role was a first for Xbox, created as part of a broader "reset" under CEO Asha Sharma.
- Chiang reported directly to Sharma and had end-to-end profit-and-loss responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services.
