Chief Product Officer and long-time Surface evangelist Panos Panay is out at Microsoft, the executive has confirmed. The news arrives days before a New York City event set to debut new Surface hardware.
Panos Panay had been at Microsoft for nearly 20 years, starting in 2004 as a Group Program Manager for PC hardware. After eight years as Corporate VP of Microsoft Devices, he was appointed to his most recent role as Chief Product Officer in 2018. Throughout his tenure at Microsoft, Panay was widely recognized for his passionate presentations on the Surface line of products.
Panay first joined Microsoft in 2004 as a group program manager. After overseeing the company’s Surface line and other key products, Panay became the company’s chief product officer in 2018, where he led the development of Windows 11. In 2021, Panay was promoted to executive vice president as part of the top leadership team that directly advises Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Panay says “he’s
“decided to turn the page and write the next chapter,” adding that he’s “forever grateful for my time at Microsoft and the amazing people I had the honor to make products with.”
Over the years, Panay has become one of the main faces of Microsoft and is known for always being pumped about new products. Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of modern life, search, and devices, will take Panay’s place as the head of the Windows and Surface businesses.