Microsoft has appointed a new CEO to work alongside current CEO Satya Nadella, so that he can focus on its growing AI business.

Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has appointed a lead for its new AWS European Sovereign Cloud subsidiary.

Microsoft appoints Judson Althoff as CEO of commercial business

In a note from Nadella shared with employees, the company has announced the restructuring of its senior leadership.

Judson Althoff will serve as the CEO of the commercial business, with nearly 13 years of experience at Microsoft already under his belt. Althoff led the global sales organization and was the architect behind designing and building Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions (MCAPS).

According to the note, Takeshi Numoto and his marketing team will now report to Althoff, as will the company's operations organization.

Nadella wrote: "Additionally, Judson will lead a new commercial leadership team that brings together leaders from engineering, sales, marketing, operations, and finance to drive our product strategy and governance, GTM readiness, and sales motions with shared accountability for the rigor and executional excellence our customers expect."

In a recent LinkedIn post, Althoff said that he was "excited and humbled to take on a new role as CEO of Microsoft’s commercial business, with new team members and new responsibilities. Together we will continue to strengthen our mission in the era of AI: to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more."

The motivation behind this move was to enable Nadella to be "laser focused" on Microsoft's "highest ambition technical work." This covers their data center buildout efforts, systems architecture, AI science, and product innovation.

Nadella has been Microsoft's sole CEO since 2014.

AWS appoints Stéphane Israël as managing director of AWS European Sovereign Cloud

Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the appointment of Stéphane Israël as the managing director of the company's recently launched AWS European Sovereign Cloud subsidiary.

The subsidiary has an independent European governance structure and its own dedicated Security Operations Center, led by a new European Union-led parent company.

Israël joins AWS from Boston Consulting Group, where he served as a partner. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Arianespace, Europe's leading satellite launch company and a launch provider for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, where he oversaw numerous successful space missions, including the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.

As managing director, he will be responsible for the management and operations of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, including infrastructure, technology, services, and sales, as well as leading AWS's global digital sovereignty efforts. 

"I am excited to join AWS at a pivotal moment for digital sovereignty in Europe and around the world," said Israël.

"AWS offers the most comprehensive and adopted cloud, and the AWS European Sovereign Cloud represents a deep investment in making the latest cloud solutions available to customers, while meeting Europe’s sovereignty needs and boosting digital capabilities across the continent. I can't wait to get started and build on the momentum for this critical initiative."

Israël will be based primarily in Berlin and work alongside Kathrin Renz, vice president of AWS Industries and also MD of AWS European Sovereign Cloud.

"Stéphane's deep understanding of European technological priorities and his track record in driving innovation align perfectly with our mission for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud," said Renz. "His expertise will be crucial as we work to provide European customers with our world-class digital sovereignty capabilities while enabling them to harness the full power of AWS."