Life After Microsoft for Fired CIO

Just over two weeks after being canned from Microsoft, the software giant’s former CIO has found himself a new job with a more impressive title: Chief Operating Officer at a wholesale mortgage lender in Ocala, Fla.

Stuart Scott was terminated in early November after an investigation for violation of company policies, according to a company spokesperson, though rumors swirled that it was actually because he had been involved with a subordinate vice-president.

Scott had been with Microsoft for about two-and-a-half years after a 17-year stint at General Electric where he held various roles, including CIO of several divisions of the company. At Microsoft, he’d overseen the process known internally as “eating our own dog food,” wherein the IT department deploys the latest pre- and beta-releases of software in an effort to test them in real world situations.

His new employers, Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, a privately held mortgage banking firm specializing in the origination and servicing of prime residential mortgage loans, said in a press release that Scott’s “vast technology experience with Microsoft Corporation and General Electric made him an obvious choice.”

Though the company is headquartered in Florida, Scott and his family, which includes seven children, will continue to reside in Bellevue, Wash.