Steven Sinofsky
Steven Sinofsky

Steven Sinofsky, who left his job as Microsoft’s Windows president last year, has joined prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz as a board partner.

The announcement this morning helps to answer the question of what Sinofsky will be doing in his post-Microsoft career, but it also leaves the door open to other positions elsewhere for the veteran technology executive.

Sinofsky writes in a blog post that he will remain an entrepreneur in residence at Harvard Business School and will also “continue to pursue other business and product development opportunities that arise.”

“Board partners are unique at a16z,” explains Sinofsky, using the common shorthand for the firm. “In this position I will represent the firm on the boards of portfolio companies when the opportunities present themselves, but will not be a full-time member of the firm.”

He adds, “I’m relatively new to the VC world and have a lot of learning to do—and I am very excited to do that. I can’t think of a better place to do this than a16z, as they share the commitment to learning and sharing that learning, for example through all the blog posts the GPs write. I first got to know BenMarc, and some of the over 70 people at the firm starting late last year. What was so cool to see was the commitment to fostering innovation, product creation, and working with product-focused entrepreneurs.”

Sinofsky, who still keeps a home in Seattle, has been spending a considerable amount of time in Silicon Valley since leaving Microsoft, meeting with companies and getting to know the tech scene there. He writes in his post that he’s excited about using his past product development experience in Office, Windows and other areas to help new companies.

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