Microsoft has announced the resignation of president and chief operating officer Mr Rick Belluzzo as it outlined a restructuring that will eliminate his job.
Analysts said the plan would make it easier for Microsoft to split into multiple companies - something the company was briefly ordered to do during the US government's antitrust trial, although that order was later overturned.
Microsoft said the restructuring had nothing to do with its anti-trust trial.
Mr Belluzzo, who had been in the position a little more than a year, said he was a key decision maker in the restructuring plans, which will allow different parts of the company operate more autonomously.
Mr Belluzzo said he realised in January the plans would make his job redundant and saw that as an opportunity to pursue his goal of being a chief executive at a company.
But The resignation surprised many analysts because many assumed Mr Belluzzo was being groomed to replace chief executive Mr Steve Ballmer at some point.
But Mr Belluzzo said he never thought he would replace either Mr Ballmer or Mr Bill Gates. "I think Bill and Steve will be around for some time . . . so I never thought that was my ambition here," he said.
