Zune boss decides to leave Microsoft

Microsoft Zune’s godfather, Bryan Lee has planned to leave the company in the next few weeks to pursue personal interests, the world's leading software maker said Thursday in an emailed statement.

Bryan Lee, the corporate vice president at Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, superintended the launch of the company's Zune digital music player, which previously called “the famous iPod-killer”.

Lee also played the major role in the development of the Xbox game console business and the introduction of its Internet Protocol television software.

Though the software company’s spokeswoman Molly O'Donnell said Lee is leaving the company “to focus on the next chapter in his life," and his departure is "absolutely not" related to sales of the music player, but analysts claim it is something fishy about his retirement plans.

Zune, which came out in mid-November to soft reviews, still lags far behind Apple Inc.'s iPod in the United States. Microsoft's device managed to capture about 10 percent of the U.S. market for hard-drive-based MP3 players in December, while iPod grabbed 85 percent of the market.

Lee, 43, who has been with the company since 2000, also served as the first chief financial officer for the Entertainment and Devices division and also supervised Microsoft's eHome group, which handles Windows Media centre Edition and the company's IPTV software. Lee is a key deputy of Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft's entertainment and device division.

"Over the last six years, I've had the luxury of repeatedly asking Bryan to take on greater responsibility and leadership and then watching him deliver," Robbie Bach said. "I want to extend my thanks to Bryan from the company and from me personally for all of his contributions to Microsoft."

J Allard, a corporate vice president who oversaw the Zune’s design and development, will now take over Lee’s current responsibilities. Allard, who is a longtime Microsoft executive, has also played a key role in the company's Xbox video-game consoles.

Joe Belfiore, VP of Windows Media Center, and Enrique Rodriguez, VP of Microsoft's TV Division, who both until now reported to Lee, will now report to Bach.

Meanwhile the market analysts are seeing Lee’s departure as a result of Zune’s diminishing sales. Van Baker, industry analyst at Gartner, said, "This is clearly a sign of trouble in Zune-land."

Early last month, Market research firm Current Analysis had released results on how Microsoft's digital music player Zune had fared in the market. According to the research results, Apple accounted for 64 per cent of digital audio devices sold during the period, Sandisk for 22 per cent and Microsoft for 3 per cent.

Lee, who is expected to leave the company in the next few weeks, has not yet announced any plans to join another company.