LinkedIn CEO to Lead Microsoft Office Group in Major AI Strategy Overhaul

Key Highlights

• LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky now leads Microsoft Office apps, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and Copilot.
• Roslansky's expanded role aims to unify AI strategies across LinkedIn, Microsoft 365, and Dynamics 365 platforms.

Ryan Roslansky, the professional networking site's CEO since 2020, will take over responsibility for the teams behind Outlook, Word, Excel, and the rest of the Office suite, Microsoft informed employees. He'll report to Rajesh Jha, a top engineering executive who oversees Windows and business software. Roslansky, as LinkedIn CEO, will continue to report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the changes do not signal the end of LinkedIn's relative autonomy as a subsidiary after nearly nine years. In 2016, Microsoft outbid rival Salesforce Inc. for the San Francisco Bay Area startup, paying $26 billion. 

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Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, has also announced that Charles Lamanna will join Jha's team. Lamanna, a corporate vice president, oversees the Dynamics 365 sales and business planning software, as well as some Copilot-branded AI tools for corporate technologists and other teams. He previously reported to Cloud Computing Chief Scott Guthrie.

Microsoft, like its main competitors in corporate software, believes that artificial intelligence bots powered by large language models will change the way office workers do their jobs. The company has been rapidly deploying new tools, many of which fall under the Copilot brand and are intended to automate or streamline tasks that were previously performed manually.