Microsoft has named Rick Belluzzo as its new president and chief operating officer. He will replace Bob Herbold, who is retiring at 58.

Belluzzo has been with MS since September 1999, previously a VP at HP and CEO of SGI. His job will be to "guide the company's business strategy and direct business operations, sales, marketing and business development, as well as Microsoft's emerging non-PC businesses". The interesting thing is that Rick has come from the consumer, touchy-feely area of Microsoft. Read into that what you will (.Net big push?).

Here are the quotes:

"Rick is stepping up to an even more crucial role in Microsoft's leadership team" - Steve Ballmer.

"Microsoft is very well positioned for growth. We've got an incredible year of new product and service launches ahead of us, including Windows XP and Office XP, and we're investing in next-generation technologies such as the .NET platform for customers" - Ricky himself.

"As Rick transitions to his broader set of responsibilities, I will spend more time focusing on Microsoft's strategic direction and working closely with Bill (Gates) and the leaders of our product teams - including Jim Allchin, Jeff Raikes and Bob Muglia - on our platform, productivity, enterprise
and software services efforts" - Steve again. ®