Former Microsoft Exec Gets Millions in Stock Options

Written By
Peter Galli
Peter Galli
Published: Sep 22, 2006
Updated: Feb 2, 2021
1 minute read
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Amazon.com has given Brian Valentine, who was head of Windows Vista development until he resigned recently, stock incentives worth more than $12-million at the current share price. The stock award was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and gives Valentine 400,000 shares which will vest between September 2008 and September 2012 at a rate of 20 percent annually as long as he’s with the company. Before he resigned, Microsoft said Valentine, a 19-year veteran, would be reassigned as soon as Vista shipped, and the unit handed over to senior vice president, Jon DeVaan.

Peter Galli

Peter Galli has been a technology reporter for 12 years at leading publications in South Africa, the UK and the US. He has comprehensively covered Microsoft and its Windows and .Net platforms, as well as the many legal challenges it has faced. He has also focused on Sun Microsystems and its Solaris operating environment, Java and Unix offerings. He covers developments in the open source community, particularly around the Linux kernel and the effects it will have on the enterprise. He has written extensively about new products for the Linux and Unix platforms, the development of open standards and critically looked at the potential Linux has to offer an alternative operating system and platform to Windows, .Net and Unix-based solutions like Solaris.

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