Senior Security Exec Quits Microsoft

Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday confirmed the sudden departure of Gordon Mangione, a 14-year Redmond veteran who last served as corporate vice president in the Security Technology Unit.

Mangione, who was responsible for the development and support of Microsofts aggressive push into the security space, is leaving to pursue other interests, a company spokeswoman told Ziff Davis Internet News.

His departure is a bit of a surprise, coming at a time when the company is on the verge of rolling out several new security products for the enterprise and consumer markets.

Mangiones exit comes just one month after Microsoft announced a major reorganization that directly affected the security unit.

The reorganization led to the creation of two new units—EASP (Enterprise Access and Security Products) and STU (Security Technology Unit)—to replace the SBTU (Security Business and Technology Unit).

Microsoft reorganization frees security wares. Click here to read more.

"With the recent reorganization and the formation of the EASP and the STU, Gords former areas of responsibility have been divided between the two organizations to align the security products more closely with the Windows Division and better enable us to put security technology in the hands of customers," the spokeswoman explained.

The company declined to say if a successor has been identified to replace Mangione.

"Gord has had a tremendous impact upon Microsoft in shipping products. We are sad to see Gord leave, and deeply appreciate Gords contributions during his tenure with Microsoft and wish him the best of luck in his new endeavors," she added.

Mangione previously served as corporate vice president of the SQL Server team and, prior to that, he was the vice president of the Exchange team.

He also participated in the development of SNA Server, one of the first servers developed for the Microsoft Windows NT operating system.

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