Sinofsky's successor at Microsoft has the people touch

With the abrupt departure of Steven Sinofsky as head of Microsoft’s Windows division, the spotlight falls on another longtime Microsoft employee who has risen through the ranks to prominence: Julie Larson-Green.

On Monday, Microsoft announced Larson-Green will lead all software and hardware engineering, responsible for all product development for Windows and Windows Live, in addition to the Surface tablet.

That makes Larson-Green — already one of the highest-ranking women at Microsoft and in tech — one of the few women at a tech company of this size to directly lead product development.