• Posted by: Technology Staff Editor
• On: 01/24/2008 10:01:04
• In: Information Technology

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Ten weeks after it ousted its chief information officer under mysterious circumstances, Microsoft has named a replacement for the position.

The software maker on Thursday tapped veteran IT executive Tony Scott for the open CIO position.

Scott's predecessor, Stuart Scott (no relation), was let go for "violating company policies," Microsoft said in a statement in November. The company has never elaborated.

Tony Scott was most recently CIO at The Walt Disney Co., where he led the mouse house through a major upgrade of its IT systems.

He also was chief technology officer at General Motors under GM CIO Ralph Szygenda, and was operations VP at Bristol-Meyers Squibb.

Scott will report to Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner.

Scott will be tasked not just with keeping Microsoft's internal IT systems humming, but also with using the company's software and providing feedback to product teams, Turner said. "Tony and the IT team will drive our solutions and deployment throughout our enterprise and provide valuable input," Scott said in a statement.

Microsoft recently ported its entire Web site to Windows Server 2008, which will be officially launched next month.

Scott's arrival marks the latest turn of what's become a revolving door executive suite at Microsoft.

In the past two weeks, Microsoft Business Division president Jeff Raikes, mergers and acquisitions chief Bruce Jaffe, and Windows development VP Rob Short have all disclosed plans to leave Microsoft.

And chairman and co-founder Bill Gates has said he will relinquish full time duties at the company in July.

On the incoming front, Microsoft said Raikes will be replaced by former Juniper Networks chief operating officer Stephen Elop.