Liddell in November 2008

Microsoft just announced that Chris Liddell, the company's chief financial officer for the past four-and-a-half years, is leaving the company at the end of the year. He's being replaced immediately by Peter Klein, who worked most recently as the Microsoft Business Division finance chief.

Liddell's departure comes as a surprise, following a difficult year of financial cutbacks at Microsoft, but the company says he's simply looking to expand his career beyond the role of chief financial officer. The fact that he's sticking around for a transition period is additional evidence that it's an amicable departure.

In a news release, Liddell calls his time at Microsoft "an outstanding experience," and says he's "delighted to be leaving the company in such great shape." Read on for the full text of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's internal email on the subject:

From: Steve Ballmer

Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 2:03 PM

To: Microsoft - All Employees

Subject: CFO Transition

Today we are announcing that Chris Liddell will be leaving Microsoft at the end of the year and that Peter Klein is our new CFO, effective immediately.

Chris joined our team in April of 2005 and over the past four and half years has provided excellent leadership. He has built a finance team that is deep and strong, and has a outstanding record of building value for our shareholders. Chris has indicated that he is interested in pursuing opportunities outside of Microsoft that will expand his career beyond being a CFO. We appreciate Chris’ contributions and wish him the best with his new endeavors. Chris will be working with the team to help transition through December 31st of this year.

Peter is an eight-year Microsoft veteran who brings great finance experience and a deep understanding of the company. He has been serving as CFO of the Microsoft Business Division, overseeing all financial strategy, management and reporting for the $18.9 billion business with 7,800 full-time employees. Previously he served as CFO of STB so he has a deep understanding of our Server and Tools business as well. Chris and Peter will work closely together over the next six weeks to ensure we have a smooth transition that builds on our solid platform of cost containment and strong execution. We are in the process of identifying the next CFO of the Microsoft Business Division and an announcement will be made in the near term.

Our finance operations are a critical part of our success as a company and I am very pleased with our position. In the past fiscal year, we have reduced our costs by $3 billion compared to the original plan, and in the last quarter we reported adjusted earnings of 52 cents per share. This is a big accomplishment and Microsoft is in a great position for the future. Today we have outstanding product momentum, healthy businesses and strong leadership. We also have good discipline around costs and a focus on driving shareholder value.

In closing, I would like to thank the finance team on a job well done and congratulate Peter on the promotion to CFO. I look forward to a great year and beyond.

Steve

[Post updated at 2:50 p.m. with more info and Ballmer email.]