Windows Phone Executive Migrates To Amazon

Windows Phone executive Brandon Watson will be leaving Microsoft today for a job at Amazon.

Watson, who had been a head of developer experience for Microsoft’s mobile OS for about two years, will now become the director of Kindle cross-platform team, overseeing the development of  Kindle applications for Windows Phone and Windows 8.

Jumping ship

Watson was the man responsible for transforming Windows Mobile 6.x into the new, shiny Windows Phone 7. His responsibilities included managing the developer application platform, showcasing application programs and developer marketing. Prior to this recent role, Watson ran technical marketing for the Server and Tools business at Microsoft, specifically focusing on developer platforms, including Azure and .NET.

Before rejoining Microsoft in 2008, Watson spent nearly a decade on Wall Street, running successful start-ups (including IMSafer, a software company focused on keeping children safe online). He has both an engineering degree and an economics degree from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an MBA from The Wharton School of Business.

It is not known who will take Watson’s place at Microsoft, but with one analyst suggesting that Windows Phone is set to ovetake iOS by 2015, the bar has been set pretty high.

The phenomenal success of Kindle Fire means Watson is guaranteed to be busy at his new workplace and since the Amazon tablet is running Android, his influence could boost sales of Google’s mobile operating system even further.