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Microsoft's chief liaison with third-party manufacturers leaves position

Microsoft's chief liaison with third-party manufacturers leaves position

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Steven Guggenheimer, who for many years has been in charge of liaisons between Microsoft and its OEM partners, is leaving his position for a senior role in the company.

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Steven Guggenheimer
Steven Guggenheimer

Steven Guggenheimer, Corporate Vice President and head of Microsoft's OEM division, is leaving his position for a senior role in the company. Guggenheimer has been in charge of liaisons between Microsoft and its OEM partners for many years, and leaves just as the company has announced its first home-grown computer, the Surface. There have been reports that OEMs feel uneasy about Microsoft competing with them in the hardware market, and Acer founder Stan Shih has been quoted as saying Surface is an only an effort to encourage manufacturers to produce Windows 8 and RT tablets. So far, Asus has been the only third-party manufacturer to announce a retail-bound Windows RT tablet, and HP recently announced it would not release a Windows RT tablet initially.

Stepping into the vacant position is Nick Parker, who is currently Vice President of OEM Sales and Marketing. Microsoft says the switch is the result of long term planning and was timed to coincide with the start of the company's fiscal year, July 1st.