Robert J. Bach
| Robbie Bach | |
|---|---|
 Bach in 2006 | |
| Born |
December 31, 1961 (age 52) Peoria, Illinois |
| Known for | former Microsoft executive |
Robert J. Bach (born December 31, 1961), commonly known as Robbie Bach, was the President of Entertainment & Devices Division at Microsoft. He led the division that is responsible for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Zune, Windows Games, Windows Mobile and the Microsoft TV platform. On May 25, 2010, Robert J. Bach and division chief technology officer James Allard announced their retirement from Microsoft effective in the fall of 2010.[1] [2]
Biography
Robbie Bach was born in Peoria, Illinois and is the son of a former Schlitz executive. He graduated from RJ Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1980. He played competitive tennis at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a recipient of the prestigious Morehead Scholarship, now known as the Morehead-Cain Scholarship. After graduating with a degree in economics, he worked at Morgan Stanley before going on to receive an MBA from Stanford University. He joined Microsoft in 1988 and was with the company until 2010. He is married with three children.
Microsoft career
Microsoft Office
As the top marketing executive in charge of Microsoft Office during the 1990s Bach battled against Corel and Lotus when they had 80% market share to Microsoft's 20%. Microsoft Office suite is now Microsoft's second most profitable product, garnering billions in revenue.
Microsoft Europe
From 1990 to 1992, Bach served as the business operations manager for Microsoft Europe, reporting to the president of Microsoft Europe in Paris, where he coordinated business planning and strategy, budgeting, and special projects. He also helped unify Microsoft's once-divided European local units.
President, Entertainment & Devices Division
As president of the Entertainment & Devices (E&D) Division at Microsoft Corp., Robbie Bach drove the company's Connected Entertainment vision, offering consumers new and branded entertainment experiences across music, gaming, video and mobile communications. Bach's responsibilities included guiding new software, services and hardware throughout Microsoft's entertainment and mobility platforms, and bringing those solutions to market with retailers and partners. Bach also managed Microsoft's worldwide retail relationships as well as media and entertainment partner relationships.
Microsoft titles
- Product Manager (Microsoft Works)
- Business Operations Manager (Europe)
- Vice President of Marketing (Desktop Applications Division)
- Vice President of the Learning (Entertainment and Productivity Division)
- Vice President of the Home and Retail division
- Senior Vice President of Home and Entertainment Division
- President of the Entertainment and Devices Division
Boys and Girls Club
Bach sits on the board of governors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and is the interim chairman of the Entertainment Software Association.
Retirement
On 25 May 2010 it was announced that he was to step down in the fall of 2010 after 22 years with Microsoft. After leaving Microsoft Bach joined the boards of the Boys & Girls Club of America, the U.S. Olympic Committee and Sonos, the maker of wireless digital music systems.[3]
References
External links
- Robert J. Bach's bio page at Microsoft PressPass
- Microsoft's Robbie Bach 'thought about killing' Surface - June 2, 2008
- The Inside Story of How Microsoft Killed its Courier Tablet - November 1, 2011
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