Jerret West leaves Xbox to join Roblox: internal changes at Microsoft

Jerret West, the marketing chief of Xbox, is officially leaving Microsoft after years of service to join Roblox. This significant move led Microsoft to make significant changes in its marketing structure, as confirmed by Phil Spencer.

Jerret West, who played a crucial role in Xbox's marketing, including games, hardware, and Game Pass, will leave Microsoft to become the new CMO and Chief Market Expansion Officer of Roblox. Phil Spencer shared the news in an email to the team, expressing gratitude for Jerret's achievements during his time at Microsoft.

Excerpt from Phil Spencer's email:

"Jerret West, who served as Xbox Marketing Director for four and a half years, will be leaving Microsoft to join Roblox as its new CMO and Chief Market Expansion Officer. His last day will be on June 30.
On behalf of the Xbox Team, I would like to thank Jerret for all he has accomplished. During his time here, Jerret was instrumental in launching and growing communities like our Xbox social universe to 120 million followers, and in expanding products like Game Pass, which is now available in over 80 countries worldwide.
He oversaw the creation and delivery of global marketing campaigns for various games, platforms (console, PC, cloud), and brand moments, such as this year's important Xbox Games Showcase. Roblox is an important partner for Xbox and we look forward to working with Jerret and the Roblox team to connect more people around the world through the power of gaming."

With Jerret West's departure, Microsoft is reorganizing its marketing teams to maintain an efficient structure and stay close to supporting businesses. The following organizational changes will take effect from July 1:

• Integrated Marketing and Programming and Events Team:
  Led by Kirsten Ward and Tina Summerford, respectively, these teams will merge as an expanded Central Gaming Marketing Team under Kirsten Ward. They will report directly to Phil Spencer.
• Pav Bhardwaj (chief of staff) and Kim Nold (executive assistant) will report to Kirsten Ward.
• Bethesda Publishing Marketing: The team led by Erin Losi will move to the Game Content and Studios division, reporting to Matt Booty.
• First Party Games Marketing (Xbox Game Studios and Mojang): The team led by Aaron Greenberg will also report to Matt Booty within the Game Content and Studios division.
• Xbox Marketing:
  Led by Chris Lee, this team will move to the Xbox organization, reporting to Sarah Bond.

These changes are planned to better align the marketing teams with the specific business areas they support, aiming for a more direct and effective focus on the needs of each division. 

Jerret West's departure represents an opportunity for Microsoft to restructure and strengthen its marketing capabilities, while he takes his experience and vision to Roblox.