Microsoft has tapped Dan Shapero to be the new CEO of its LinkedIn divisionsucceeding Ryan Roslanskywho has run the subsidiary since 2020 and last year took on additional responsibility in Microsoft's Office productivity group. The change is effective immediately.
"Dan has led salesmarketingand product across the most important parts of this business," Roslansky wrote in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday announcing the move. "He knows our membersour customersand carries the mission in a way that's genuinely rare."
Roslansky will retain his position as executive vice president at Microsoft. He came to LinkedIn from Glam Media in 2009 to be product chiefand six years ago he took over the group from Jeff Weiner. Under Roslanskymembership has grown to 1.3 billion from about 700 million.
LinkedIn's revenue increased 11% year over year in the fourth quarteras the business social network has added members and sought to generate more money from each of them. Growth has slowed since Microsoft acquired the company for $27 billion in 2016. Meta is more than 10 times bigger than LinkedIn by revenueand reported nearly 24% growth in the fourth quarter.
Microsoft has been busy adding artificial intelligence features across its Office products and in LinkedInwhile also spending heavily on data center infrastructure to provide AI computing power to cloud clients.
"The power of economic opportunity and the promise of LinkedIn has never been more important than it is today as the world is transformed by AI and professionals everywhere must transition along with it," Shaperowho joined LinkedIn as a general manager in 2008 after running consulting projects at Bain & Co.wrote in a LinkedIn post. For the past five yearsShapero was LinkedIn's chief operating officer.
The revamp comes weeks after Microsoft's top-ranking Office leaderRajesh Jhaannounced plans to retire. Jha said he had been working with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on succession and was feeling good about the futurewith Roslansky and other executives in the Office group reporting to Nadella.
Earlier this year gaming leader Phil Spencer left Microsoft after 38 yearsand Charlie Bellwho was in charge of cybersecurity productsbecame an individual contributor.
Mohak ShroffLinkedIn's senior vice president of engineeringwill become Microsoft's president of platform and digital workreporting to Roslansky. Shroff said LinkedIn vice presidents Erran Berger and Raghu Hiremagalur will take charge of the unit's engineering function.
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