Tech giant Microsoft is overhauling its human resources (HR) team, with Chief People Officer Amy Coleman urging employees to prioritise “adaptability” and “set a new pace” amid rapid organisational changes and AI-powered transformation, according to a report published by Business Insider on Wednesday.
“We’re in a time when technology, the way we work, and our org structures are all evolving. The pace of change is exceeding what our current operating model and decision rhythms were built for. We’re no longer being asked to scale for stability; we need to scale for adaptability and help set a new pace,” Coleman said in an internal memo.
A key change in the restructuring includes the departure of Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, Microsoft’s Chief Diversity Officer, at the end of this month. Amy Coleman said McIntyre will take up a Chief People Officer role at another company. Leslie Lawson Sims will succeed McIntyre as head of People & Culture, with a goal of “accelerating the people team and shaping culture across the enterprise”, Coleman said.
The move follows a string of leadership changes at Microsoft in recent months, including the departures of gaming chief Phil Spencer and productivity head Rajesh Jha, according to a report by CNBC. Similarly, the company’s security executive, Charlie Bell, transitioned into an individual contributor role in February, the report added.
Coleman, who announced the restructuring, took over as chief people officer in March 2025, shortly after Microsoft laid off around 2,000 employees, calling them low performers.
Other changes as part of the latest revamp include consolidating all engineering HR teams under Mel Simpson to strengthen collaboration with engineering and better align with product priorities. The company has also moved its people analytics team under the employee experience unit led by Corporate Vice President Nathalie D’Hers, and created a dedicated ‘workforce acceleration’ team headed by Justin Thenutai.
