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Microsoft's head of phones, Jo Harlow, has also left the company

Microsoft's head of phones, Jo Harlow, has also left the company

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Another key former Nokia executive leaves Microsoft

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Former Nokia executive Jo Harlow is leaving Microsoft. Harlow moved to Microsoft alongside former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop when the company acquired Nokia’s phone business. Both are now leaving the software giant as part of a new reorganization of Microsoft’s devices efforts. A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the departure to The Verge, but it’s not immediately clear what Harlow has planned for the future.

Harlow originally joined Nokia back in 2003 and progressed through the ranks to the Nokia leadership team in 2011. As the former captain of the Duke University women’s basketball team, Harlow held a variety of roles at Nokia before joining Microsoft and leading the phones team last year. Harlow reported directly to Stephen Elop both at Nokia and Microsoft, and made the tough decision to kill off Nokia's feature phones in favor of Windows Phone at Microsoft. Both Elop and Harlow departing make it clear Microsoft has a new vision for its mobile efforts.

Windows chief Terry Myerson is taking over Surface, HoloLens, Lumia, Microsoft Band, Xbox, and all of Microsoft’s devices efforts. Myerson will lead a newly formed division that ties Windows engineering efforts to the hardware that Microsoft is creating. The first results will be visible this fall when Microsoft starts to bring Windows 10 Mobile-powered devices to the market.