WORLDTECHInternal memos: Microsoft shakes up communications as Nadella makes a push to build in public
Single source: this development was reported by GeekWire. What WORLDTECH can establish is that the report was made, and by whom. It has not been matched against a second independent organisation and has not been officially confirmed by the organisations involved.
What happened
Colburn announced this month that he was leaving the company in mid-October. Microsoft is moving communications out of its marketing group and under Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, as CEO Satya Nadella calls for a fundamentally new approach that makes employees a bigger part of how the company tells its story.
Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella speaks onstage at Microsoft Build 2026 in San Francisco. Brent Colburn , Microsoft’s VP of global public affairs, was named interim communications leader, effective next week, reporting to Smith.
Building in public: Nadella’s memo described the change in the organizational structure as a response to a shifting media environment, and said the larger plan is to make employees a bigger part of Microsoft’s public voice. The approach Nadella described is closer to how AI labs and startups operate.
Key facts
- Colburn — announced: this month that he was leaving the company in mid-October
Sources & evidence
- GeekWire Reporting source
Internal memos: Microsoft shakes up communications as Nadella makes a push to build in public ↗
https://www.geekwire.com/2026/internal-memos-microsoft-shakes-up-communications-as-nadella-makes-a-push-to-build-in-public/