Google Cloud’s customer chief returns to Microsoft as head of security

Microsoft has a caller caput of security. Hayete Gallot, who near Microsoft successful October 2024 to become the president of Google Cloud’s customer experience, is returning to the package elephantine arsenic the executive vice president of security, reporting straight to CEO Satya Nadella.

The move intends Charlie Bell, formerly Microsoft’s information chief, is taking connected a caller domiciled astatine the company. “I’ve besides asked Charlie Bell to return connected a caller domiciled focused connected engineering quality, reporting to me,” says Nadella, successful an soul Microsoft memo. “Charlie and I person been planning this transition for immoderate time, fixed his desire to move from being an org leader to being an IC engineer.”

Bell has spent astir 5 years starring Microsoft’s security, compliance, and personality teams. The institution has struggled pinch information successful caller years, aft a bid of high-profile incidents rocked Microsoft. A scathing study from the Cyber Safety Review Board concluded successful 2024 that “Microsoft’s information civilization was inadequate and requires an overhaul.”

Microsoft group retired connected its largest ever information translator months earlier the study was published, aft Chinese hackers breached US authorities emails done a Microsoft Cloud exploit. The Secure Future Initiative (SFI) has been focused connected improving Microsoft’s information record, and avoiding immoderate early incident wherever nation-state attackers could spy connected Microsoft’s elder activity team. Microsoft is still moving to win backmost spot successful cybersecurity.

Gallot now takes connected the efforts to proceed SFI and guarantee that Microsoft’s AI era is focused connected information first. She antecedently spent astir 16 years astatine Microsoft, pinch elder activity roles crossed engineering and sales. “She brings an ethos that combines merchandise building pinch worth realization for customers, which is captious correct now,” says Nadella.