Helen Chiang, Xbox’s first Chief Operating Officer (COO), has left Microsoft just a few months after the role was created, according to an internal memo seen by The Verge.
Tom Warren reported the departure for The Verge on October 23rd. Chiang spent 21 years at Microsoft and led Minecraft before she was promoted to COO in July. According to the report, her duties are being split between other Xbox leaders for now.
A short memo from Asha Sharma
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced the exit in a brief note to staff. “Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today. I’m grateful for her years of service and wish her well,” Sharma wrote, adding: “We’ll share more on COO leadership as plans are finalized.”
Microsoft did not explain why Chiang was leaving. “We don’t discuss individual personnel matters,” Kari Perez, Xbox Vice President of Communications, told The Verge. “We’re grateful for Helen’s years of service and wish her well.” The Verge noted that the exit comes amid rumours that Xbox is preparing further layoffs this month, in November and in January.
Where the COO role fits in the Xbox reset
Sharma created the COO post in July as part of a company-wide restructure she called ‘Resetting XBOX‘. In that memo, she said the plan would cut about 3,200 roles across the 2027 financial year and move four studios to new management.
The COO was given what Sharma described as “end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services” (P&L meaning profit and loss), reporting directly to her. Sharma said at the time that Chiang would “bring our businesses together under one operating model, making sure we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results.”
