Former Windows and Surface chief designer joins Amazon

This week, former Microsoft corporate vice president Ralf Groene, who was responsible for the design of the Surface and Windows family of devices, will start working at Amazon. Over the past few years, he has worked closely with former Windows and Surface head Panos Panay, who also left Microsoft and now works at Amazon.

Ralf Groen / Image source: Getty Images

Groen left Microsoft last April, less than a year after Panay joined Amazon. In his new position, he will lead the division responsible for the design of Amazon devices and services. It is noted that Groen left Microsoft shortly after Pavan Davuluri became the head of Windows and Surface.

Groen and Panay were instrumental in creating the Surface family of devices. The original Surface tablet began its journey as a set of sketches in Groen’s sketchbook, which over time turned into several 3D prototypes. Surface RT launched in 2012, and the original Surface Pro had a significant influence on hybrid laptop design in the years following its launch.

Interestingly, Groen and Panay are not the only former Microsoft employees to join Amazon recently. A few months ago, Panay’s new team at Amazon was joined by J Allard, who co-founded Xbox (he left Microsoft in 2010 after the Courier tablet launch was cancelled). Former Windows Cloud executive Aidan Marcuss also joined Amazon this week.