Microsoft announced that Bill Veghte, a 19-year veteran of the company who helped spearhead a variety of initiatives related to Office and Windows, is leaving the company. This isn't exactly a surprise; last July, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wrote that Veghte would be taking "a new leadership role in the company" after Steven Sinofsky, with whom Veghte co-ran the Windows Division, was promoted to president of that workgroup.

Veghte evidently didn't find those possible leadership roles appealing, and now he's out the door as of the end of the month. He first joined Microsoft in 1990 as an associate product manager (interviewing for the job in a neck brace, after crashing his rental car on the 520 bridge and spending four hours in the ER), and later went on to lead the development of Windows 98. His last position with the company was Senior Vice President of the global Windows business, where apparently he played an instrumental role in the Windows 7 launch, including helping craft the "I'm a PC" campaign.

"Bill has indicated a desire to run a business in a more end-to-end fashion and continue to explore new ideas in the broad technology, communications and services sectors," Ballmer wrote in a Jan. 15 statement. "I want to thank Bill for his important contributions to Microsoft over nearly two decades and wish him the very best in his new endeavors."

By "run a business in a more end-to-end fashion," I can only assume that Veghte is shooting for a CEO spot somewhere.