Ex-Microsoft COO Kevin Turner Leaves Citadel Securities After 7 Months As CEO

Only seven months after starting his job as CEO at Citadel Securities, former Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner has already left, according to the company.

Turner, who headed Microsoft's partner channel and worldwide sales, is being replaced by longtime Citadel executive Peng Zhao, who was previously the global head of market making for the company. Citadel Securities, a division of Citadel LLC, did not immediately respond to a request by CRN for comment.

’I want to thank Kevin Turner for his leadership and the lasting impact he made on our firm,’ billionaire Kenneth Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.

[Related: Microsoft Partner Channel Head Kevin Turner Leaving To Join Citadel Securities]

"I want to thank [Citadel CEO] Ken Griffin for his friendship and support, and for the opportunity to be a part of one of the most respected financial services companies in the world. I wish him and the entire team continued success," said Turner in a statement.

Turner had been COO of Microsoft from 2005 to 2016 and was once considered a candidate to replace former CEO Steve Ballmer.

Ballmer was succeeded by current Microsoft CEO Nadella in 2014. Despite being passed up for the head position, Turner was the company’s highest-paid executive for several years, making just over $12.6 million during the company’s 2014 fiscal year.

When Turner left Microsoft in 2016, Satya Nadella, in an email to employees, praised Turner for "[building] the sales force into the strategic asset it is today with incredible talent." Many partners told CRN they feel Turner’s cost-cutting ways have made it difficult to work with the vendor.

Since his departure, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft dispersed Turner's channel responsibilities among several managers, leading to a reorganization that put North America President Judson Althoff into a new role overseeing the worldwide commercial business.