One of Microsoft’s most prominent techies, Alex Kipman, is reportedly at the center of a storm brewed by allegations of inappropriate behavior in the workplace that, among other things, involves sexual misconduct. The HoloLens co-creator is leaving the company after 21 years.
Microsoft’s Alex Kipman is stepping down following allegations of sexual misconduct with women in the workplace. Kipman led the development of Microsoft’s augmented reality headset HoloLens.
Business Insider first broke the story of inappropriate behavior, including unwanted touching, on May 25. Kipman also played indecent VR videos of women engaged in overly sexualized pillow fights in front of other employees. Insider’s source described it as “VR porn.â€
This is a scathing indictment of Microsoft’s work culture that reportedly also tolerated inappropriate conduct, including verbal harassment. According to three Insider sources, managers even warned employees not to leave women alone around Kipman.
Reportedly, Kipman also massaged a female colleague’s shoulders even though she was visibly uncomfortable with it. So last year, 25 employees took it upon themselves and attested to Kipman’s unruly behavior in an internal report.
A former executive who worked with Kipman told Insider, “The best thing that happened, sadly, was the pandemic. So we never had to interact with him in person.â€
Neither Kipman nor Microsoft have confirmed Kipman’s departure from the company. However, Geekwire obtained an email that Scott Guthrie, EVP of cloud and AI at Microsoft, sent across to employees, apprising them of upcoming organizational changes.
“Alex Kipman to leave the company and pursue other opportunities,†reads the email. “Over the last several months, Alex Kipman and I have been talking about the team’s path going forward. We have mutually decided that this is the right time for him to leave the company to pursue other opportunities. I appreciate the tremendous vision Alex has provided to Microsoft over the years, and all that he has done to advance our Metaverse offerings.â€
As such, the entire division is being split into two, with the Mixed Reality hardware teams (HoloLens, Integrated Visual Augmentation System or IVAS) set to join Panos Panay in the Windows + Devices (W+D) division. Meanwhile, the Mixed Reality presence and collaboration services, i.e., software development, will join Experiences + Devices division under Jeff Teper.
Guthrie mentioned that Kipman, who also led the development of the Kinect motion controller for Xbox, would continue until the transition is complete in the next two months.
Microsoft is eyeing a multi-billion contract for HoloLens from the US Army. Allegations against Kipman and his consequent departure raise the question: is this the reason why almost 100 techies fled Microsoft in 2021?
Kipman had been at Microsoft since 2001.
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