Microsoft reshuffles top executives

Microsoft has made new leadership appointments to its Cloud and Enterprise, Microsoft Devices and Xbox groups.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella provided details on the appointments in an internal email, titled "Tuning our organisation", made public by Microsoft.

After two months as acting leader for Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise branch, Scott Guthrie has become the group's executive vice president.

"Scott has been a very public and passionate evangelist for many of our most important developer and infrastructure businesses," Nadella wrote.

"Since joining Microsoft in 1997, he has made critical contributions to .NET and other pivotal technologies that help power the Microsoft ecosystem today, and most recently has been the driver behind the unprecedented growth of Microsoft Azure."

Effective with the close of Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's mobile division, Stephen Elop - who stepped down from his position as Nokia Corporation's CEO and president as part of the sale - will join Microsoft as executive vice president of Microsoft Devices Group, reporting to Nadella.

Nadella said the company expects to complete the acquisition by the end of April this year.

"I've had a chance to work closely with Stephen, when he was previously a senior leader with Microsoft, as a key partner during his tenure as Nokia CEO, and again in the last several months as we've worked through the initial stages of integration planning," Nadella wrote.

Nadella also said he has asked Phil Spencer to "take on a new role leading Xbox, combining the Xbox and Xbox Live development teams with the Microsoft Studios team". In the role, Spencer will lead the Xbox, Xbox Live, Xbox Music and Xbox Video teams, and Microsoft Studios.