Windows Phone apps boss Charlie Kindel quits Microsoft for new startup

Microsoft's general manager of the Windows Phone Developer Ecosystem, Charlie Kindel, is leaving the company to launch his own startup.

Kindel confirmed the news in an email to fellow employees, while also talking to news site GeekWire about the reasons for his departure - which seem entirely amicable.

"In reality, I stepped away from day to day Windows Phone work earlier this year to focus on what I wanted to do with my career next," he tells GeekWire. "As I was looking at what would excite me next, serendipitously, the opportunity to do a startup outside of Microsoft came up.  Every fiber of my body has told me 'it's finally time'."

Kindel leaves Windows Phone with nearly 27,000 apps in its Marketplace store, having spearheaded the company's efforts to build an attractive platform for developers while courting them to support it.

"We would not have gotten to the table with Nokia if they didn’t believe we were in the race to win long term," says Kindel. "We’re now in the middle phase of the marathon. This is where Microsoft’s stamina genes will come into play."

source:http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/windows-phone-apps-boss-charlie-kindel-quits-microsoft-for-new-startup/015116