Microsoft UK has promoted chief operating officer Clare Barclay to become the new chief executive from the start of October.

She succeeds Cindy Rose, who was appointed in 2016 and will become president for Microsoft’s business across Western Europe.

Rose herself succeeds Vahé Torossian, who will lead Microsoft’s business applications division at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Barclay will be responsible for all of Microsoft’s commercial product, service and support offerings in the UK, aiming to continue the company’s growth in the new era of the intelligent cloud and the intelligent edge.

Ralph Haupter, EMEA president at Microsoft, said: “Globally, the UK is one of the most cloud-forward countries with customers who often lead in their adoption and use of new technologies, so I could not be more delighted that Clare is stepping up to lead Microsoft in the UK.

"She brings deep insight to our customers’ and partners’ needs as well as exceptional leadership qualities, having repeatedly built high-performing teams across Microsoft."

Barclay has worked at Microsoft for 22 years across sales, marketing and strategy leadership roles. Prior to her COO role, she led the company’s work with small and medium-sized businesses, as well as its network of 25,000 UK partner organisations.

Barclay commented: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead Microsoft in the UK and to take forward the success Cindy has delivered and the cultural transformation she has led over the last four years.

"This year has not only challenged us, it has also shown how technology can help us all thrive and adapt.”

Earlier this week, Microsoft UK appointed Gavin Jackson, former chief executive of EMEA for UiPath, to succeed Damian Stirrett as the managing director of its enterprise commercial business.

Stirrett, who has led the UK enterprise business for six years, is moving to a new role within Microsoft.

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