Brian Valentine, Welcome to Amazon.com!
This article, Vista RC1 Still Not Ready For Prime Time, Partners Say, from InformationWeek describes how Brian Valentine, SVP for Windows Vista at Microsoft, is taking a page from my own book and leaving the company to join Amazon.com.
This really is a great hire for Amazon. While working in the Windows Vista division at Microsoft, I was able to see several of the Windows leaders in action, and though I never had the chance to work with him directly, Brian Valentine always seemed to shine. He seemed to be one of the "cooler" (if that is possible for a senior exec), funniest, and down-to-earth leaders, who could really get a crowd going. He was clearly passionate about his product, getting down to the details and keeping a watchful eye on progress. As an engineer, I only once had a bug assigned to me which was opened by a VP/SVP, and it was opened by brianv.
I'm really excited to find out what Mr. Valentine will be focused on at Amazon, but in any case I think he'll make a great match with the Amazon culture of fun, hard work, and customer focus. Welcome to Amazon, Brian!