Microsoft appoints Kevin Scott for the newly created role of Chief Technology Officer

Microsoft has appointed LinkedIn senior vice president of infrastructure, Kevin Scott, for the newly created role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Scott will be assuming the responsibilities of Microsoft CEO in addition to his role at LinkedIn.

As CTO, Scott will drive strategic cross-company initiatives to maximise the impact that Microsoft has with customers. Scott will be joining the senior leadership team at Microsoft, reporting directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Nadella said, “We are thrilled that Kevin will bring to Microsoft his unique expertise developing platforms and services that empower people and organisations. Kevin’s first area of focus is to bring together the world’s leading professional network and professional cloud.”

Scott said, “The thing that gets me up in the morning and that has always excited me about technology is its role in empowering people and helping to enrich their lives. I am very optimistic about where Microsoft is headed and how we can continue to use technology to solve some of society’s most important challenges.”

Scott will continue to be a part of the LinkedIn executive management team. Prior to his stint as the senior vice president of infrastructure at LinkedIn, Scott had held engineering leadership roles in Google and AdMob. Scott is an angel investor, and an adviser to a number of Silicon Valley startups. He has founded the non profit organisation Behind the Tech, and has a distinguished 20 year career as a researcher, engineer and leader. Scott owns several patents in the fields of search and information extraction.