Xbox’s first chief operating officer (COO) is leaving the company after his new role was created just a few months ago. Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today, according to an internal Xbox memo seen by The edge. Chiang has worked at Microsoft for 21 years, as head of Minecraft before being promoted to director of Xbox operations in July.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced Chiang’s departure in a surprisingly short note today. “Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today. I am grateful for her years of service and wish her well,” Sharma said. While Chiang leaves today, his immediate responsibilities are split among other Xbox executives for now, and Sharma notes that “we will share more about the COO’s leadership as plans are finalized.”
It appears the COO position won’t disappear after just a few months, but it’s unclear why Chiang is leaving after such a short stint in the role. At the time of Chiang’s promotion, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma described the new COO role as a first for Xbox, “with end-to-end P&L responsibility for content, hardware, platform and services.” The role was created as part of Xbox’s Great Reset.
Chiang reported directly to Sharma and was promoted to “bring our businesses together under one operating model, ensuring we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results.”
Chiang leaves amid rumors that Xbox is preparing more layoffs this month, in November and January. Sharma’s sudden and short memo, coupled with Chiang’s responsibilities assigned to other Xbox executives, makes it seem like it wasn’t a resignation.
I asked Microsoft for comment on Chiang’s departure, and the company declined to discuss the circumstances of his departure. “We don’t discuss individual personnel matters,” says Kari Perez, Xbox’s vice president of communications. “We are grateful for Helen’s years of service and wish her well.”
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