His termination shouldn't be all that surprising. Remember, Don Dodge is a big name and costs Microsoft a lot of money. How much value is he producing, exactly?

His termination shouldn't be all that surprising. Remember, Don Dodge is a big name and costs Microsoft a lot of money. How much value is he producing, exactly? It's difficult to say, since he doesn't work on a directly revenue-generating product. Companies like Microsoft tend to hire well-known guys when they can afford it for the less tangible rewards (brand value, etc.), but have difficulty justifying their employment when times are tough. There's no doubt in my mind he was a valuable asset to Microsoft, so I don't want to undermine that, but anybody who has worked at a large, slow-moving company knows exactly how the attitude towards spending works.