Blair Westlake has resigned from Microsoft, where he worked for 10 years and most recently served as corporate vice president of the media and entertainment group. He licensed movies and TV shows for Xbox and its platforms.
“Over the last few months Microsoft has been undergoing a large-scale reorganization,” Westlake said in a statement. “As the reorganization has unfolded, it has become clear to me that the organization is moving in a direction that does not fit either my expertise or my skill sets. Therefore, I made the decision to leave Microsoft, after almost 10 years with the Company.”
“During that period, I have had the privilege of working with numerous talented and professional people. While I will miss their company and our interaction, I truly believe that this move is in the best interest of all parties concerned.
I want to thank my talented and committed team, as well as Yusuf Mehdi, Robbie Bach, Will Poole and Hank Vigil, all of whom had a significant and positive impact on me during my tenure at Microsoft.”
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The former Universal television chairman joined Microsoft in 2004. As Westlake notes, Microsoft has been revamping its entertainment offerings to help turn the Xbox into a cornerstone of the living room. It hired Nancy Tellem to run its entertainment division and develop shows for its consoles last year.
Tellem has since made a lot of noise about bringing high-quality original content to Xbox — mirroring the maneuvers of other tech giants.