Microsoft's board getting more mobile expertise with latest addition
Honing its mobile industry insights, Microsoft is adding a new member to its board of directors.
Microsoft reorg
The latest addition is John W. Stanton, described by the Redmond, Wash.-headquartered corporation as "a pioneer and innovator in the U.S. and global wireless industry."
Stanton is currently chairman of Trilogy Equity Partners, a private equity fund for early-stage growth opportunities in the wireless market, as well as Trilogy International Partners, a wireless operator in Central and South America and New Zealand.
Stanton has also held a number of leadership roles with various telecommunications companies, including McCaw Cellular, Western Wireless, and VoiceStream Wireless, acquired by Deutsche Telekom and renamed T-Mobile USA.
Most recently, Stanton served as director and later chairman of Clearwire Corp. from 2008 to 2013.
As the 11th member of the collective, Stanton will join the Compensation Committee of the Microsoft board.
Existing members include Microsoft chairman John W. Thompson, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, current CEO Satya Nadella, and founder Bill Gates.
In Wednesday's announcement, Nadella posited Stanton's experience will "be invaluable as we transform Microsoft for growth and leadership in the mobile-first, cloud-first world."
Microsoft isn't alone in staffing up its board this week.
On Tuesday, IBM announced it is planning to add two more members to its board of directors: Johnson & Johnson chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky and former Royal Dutch Shell CEO Peter R. Voser.