Microsoft veteran Yusuf Mehdi to exit after 35 years

After spending 35 years at Microsoft, consumer chief marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi is preparing to leave the company following the end of its next fiscal year, according to an internal memo as reported by Business Insider.

Mehdi told employees he would remain at Microsoft until June 2027 to support the company.

“After 35 extraordinary years at Microsoft - years filled with adventure, challenge, reinvention, and innovation - I've decided the time is right to begin planning for my next adventure,” Mehdi wrote in the memo. “I will work through the next fiscal year to help reimagine Windows for the agentic era, grow Microsoft 365 services, and bring our One Copilot vision to life.”


However, Microsoft has not announced a successor for Mehdi’s role.

The executive currently leads product marketing for Microsoft AI and Copilot and has become one of the company’s most recognisable public-facing leaders at major product launches in recent years.

Mehdi joined Microsoft as an intern in the early 1990s and went on to work across several of the company’s biggest products and businesses. He contributed to the launches of Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 before later leading Microsoft’s search and online operations, including the launch of Bing.

He also helped oversee the rollout of Xbox One, Windows 10 and Copilot Plus PCs launched in 2024.

Looking back on his time at Microsoft, Mehdi wrote: “I've had the privilege of being a part of some of the most consequential shifts in technology—from the rise of Windows and the early Internet, to search, gaming, devices, and now one of the most profound platform transitions yet: AI.”

His exit comes as chief executive Satya Nadella changes Microsoft’s structure around AI. Several senior leaders have either changed roles or left the company altogether.

Microsoft recently expanded the responsibilities of longtime sales chief Judson Althoff and moved AI chief Mustafa Suleyman to its superintelligence team.

Business Insider earlier said that the company has moved away from its traditional senior leadership structure in favour of smaller groups focused on engineering, operations and Copilot development.

Mehdi said he would stay focused on his responsibilities during the transition period.

“I'll be fully engaged, likely more intensely than ever,” he wrote.