Microsoft announced on Monday that board member Maria Klawe will step down from the position in December, ending her six-year tenure.
At the same time, two heavy-hitter executives are in line to join the board. Microsoft has nominated Sandra Peterson, chairwoman of Johnson & Johnson; and Padmasree Warrior, the former CTO at Cisco and Motorola, as new additions to the board.
Microsoft shareholders will have a chance to weigh in on the newcomers at the company’s annual meeting in December, though those votes tend to be more ceremonial than anything else.
Assuming both are elected, the departure and new additions would bring Microsoft’s board from 10 to 11 members. The company has had as many as 12 board members in years past.
Klawe’s departure comes as she plans to turn her attention to other education initiatives. As the president at Harvey Mudd College, Klawe has led many of Microsoft’s STEM education programs during her tenure.
“In my six years serving on Microsoft’s board, I am proud of the role I’ve played to help shape Microsoft’s business, its leadership and impactful programs,” she said in a Monday press release.
The potential newcomers both bring equally impressive resumes to the post.
Peterson is a veteran of the healthcare industry, having most recently served as the chairwoman of the executive committee for Johnson & Johnson. She has previously held executive roles at Bayer CropScience AG, Bayer HealthCare and Medco Health Solutions.
Warrior, meanwhile, stepped down in June as the chief technology and strategy officer of Cisco. Before that, she was the chief technology officer at Motorola from 2003 to 2007. She also serves on the board of Box, the California-based cloud storage company.
