News

Jim Ewel Retires From Microsoft

• By Scott Bekker
• 01/09/2001

Ewel was responsible for marketing Windows 2000 on the server side. His aggressive push for Windows adoption in enterprise applications led Dan Kusnetzky, program vice president, system software at IDC Corp., to dub Ewel “Mr. Wiindows 2000 Datacenter Server.”

A Microsoft spokesperson said that Ewel’s last day at Microsoft was Dec. 22, 2000. Redmond is current searching for a replacement.

Ewel began his career at Microsoft as a sales manager at its Chicago office, eventually taking charge of Microsoft’s SQL database group. He also led the push for Windows Servers in the enterprise, leading Server and BackOffice marketing.

Kusnetzky says that although Ewel was an asset to Microsoft’s enterprise program, it is unlikely that Windows 2000 will suffer as a result of his departure. “That won’t mean Windows 2000 will run aground and be floundering on the rocks,” Kusnetzky says asserting that the Windows 2000 team is filled with talented and ambitious people.

Rob Enderle, Vice President and Research Leader, at the Giga Information Group, believes that Ewel may have felt pressure to leave Microsoft. "The marketing campaign for Windows 2000 was largely seen as ineffective," he says, noting that Ewel was responsible the campaign. "I tend to think he was given an incentive to retire," Enderle says.

Kusnetzky says it is possible that the release of Windows 2000 Datacenter Server offered the Ewel an opportunity to leave. “Maybe they finished their project and wanted to move on,” he says, “It would certainly explain the circumstances.” - Christopher McConnell