Windows Phone Senior Director of Business Development Robert Williams has left his post at Microsoft to take on the role of App Store Director for Amazon, according to a Win Gadget News report. This is not the first high-profile Windows Phone employee departing Microsoft recently; Windows Phone’s Director of Developer Experience Brandon Watson made a similar move about 5 months ago to work on Amazon’s Kindle line, and Windows Phone Developer Ecosystem GM Charlie Kindel left Microsoft late last year.
Williams worked on the app team for Windows Phone, and was at least partly responsible for Windows Phone’s active growth of the Windows Phone Marketplace, which now features over 100,000 applications. While his departure is a bit less high-profile than that of Watson and Kindel, it’s always a bit worrying when a company loses several senior level roles over a relatively short period of time.
The fact that a few of the Windows Phone departures went to Amazon is certainly intriguing, especially with Amazon’s rumored move into the smartphone market. Could Amazon be scooping up members of the Windows Phone to create a better Amazon Appstore experience, or are the hires merely coincidental? I guess time will tell.
[via WP Central, Win Gadget News]