Another Microsoft Corporate VP leaves the nest

I missed this: Gerri Elliott, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of its Worldwide Public Sector business, is out.

Elliott, according to her bio on Microsoft's Web site, which was updated on January 14, "left to pursue other interests" as of December 31, 2008.

Former IBMer Elliott "led a team of more than 1,900 sales and marketing professionals serving government, education and non-privatized healthcare customers in more than 100 countries," her bio says. She joined Microsoft in 2001.

I found out about Elliott via Mini-Microsoft's blog, the original source of Microsoft layoff rumors, which have been spinning madly out of control since mid-December. According to an anonymous poster:

"We've had a few more senior, some well known outside, some lesser known, departures. Seems like a lot of our senior execs suddenly want to "spend more time with their family". Gerri Elliot, Kurt Kolb, Joe Peterson to name a few. Also some partners have found themselves in a holding pattern with a fixed time to leave. So we're culling at all ranks - some by choice, some not. "

The poster notes that there's a  lot of behind-the-scenes consolidation and resignation activity at Microsoft that could save CEO Steve Ballmer & Co. from  announcing any kind of corporate-wide layoffs. Couple that with Microsoft's much more conservative hiring rate, alleged cuts of non-full-time contractors and postponement of new construction and there might be enough trimming to avoid wide-scale job cuts, some (including yours truly) have argued.

Microsoft's Q2 FY 2009  earnings announcement is tomorrow. I guess we'll find out fo sure whether or not corporate-wide cuts are coming in the next 24 hours.

(Note: I found another mention of Elliott's depature. It sounds like she is in semi-retirement, not taking a new position elsewhere.)

Update:  The more you dig, the more quiet executive resignations/departures you find. Two more Microsoft Corporate VPs -- Lewis Levin and Richard McAniff, both with Office -- also left Microsoft at the end of last year. Perhaps there  really is a case to be made that attrition will end up reducing Microsoft's ranks without full-timers being let go....