Head  of Microsoft’s Windows division  Steven Sinofsky has tendered his resignation and is leaving the company effective immediately.  Julie Larson-Green will be promoted to lead all Windows software and hardware engineering.  No reason has been given at this time for Sinofsky’s departure.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says of Sinofsky, ““I am grateful for the many years of work that Steven has contributed to the company. The products and services we have delivered to the market in the past few months mark the launch of a new era at Microsoft. We’ve built an incredible foundation with new releases of Microsoft Office, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Microsoft Surface, Windows Server 2012 and ‘Halo 4,’ and great integration of services such as Bing, Skype and Xbox across all our products. To continue this success it is imperative that we continue to drive alignment across all Microsoft teams, and have more integrated and rapid development cycles for our offerings.”

Sinofsky himself was equally as gracious in saying, ““It is impossible to count the blessings I have received over my years at Microsoft. I am humbled by the professionalism and generosity of everyone I have had the good fortune to work with at this awesome company.”

One cannot help but wonder what kind, of any impact this sudden change will have on the
success and development of Microsoft’s new line of Windows 8 products, as Steven Sinofky was just as much the public face of the project as he was the driving force behind it.