Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Joins Microsoft's Senior Leadership Team

Xbox boss Phil Spencer is joining Microsoft's top team of advisers. According to GameSpot sister site ZDNet, Spencer--who is currently executive vice president of gaming for Microsoft--is joining Microsoft's Senior Leadership Team. He's the 16th member, including CEO Satya Nadella, CFO Terry Myerson, and AI executive Harry Shum.

Spencer's promotion to the Senior Leadership Team is reflected on the Microsoft's website. His appointment suggests gaming is not going anywhere at Microsoft; there was a time when people believed Microsoft might spin off its Xbox division. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

Thanks to everyone for the very nice comments today, great show of commitment by MS to the Gaming opportunity, proud to be part of this team

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) September 19, 2017

For his part, Spencer thanked fans for their support, and said himself that his promotion the Senior Leadership Team is a "great show of commitment" by Microsoft overall to the gaming market. Microsoft's gaming division, called More Personal Computing, saw its operating income rise 34 percent, or $2.1 billion, for the latest reporting period.

Spencer was promoted to Head of Xbox in August 2015. He oversees the Xbox and Xbox Live, as well as the creative teams at Xbox Music, Xbox Video, and Microsoft Studios. Spencer has been with Microsoft for more than 25 years.

Spencer is known for his frank and candid remarks about industry topics. For example, he consistently talks about how console wars are counter-productive.