Moving Forward After 18 Years
After 18 years, Microsoft’s senior director of marketing for Xbox Albert Penello has left the company. Panello made the announcement via Twitter yesterday, calling his time at the Microsoft a “once in a lifetime experience.”
Well today is a crazy day. I’ve made the decision after 18 years to leave Microsoft. To say it’s been a “once in a lifetime” experience is an understatement. The team at #Xbox has meant so much to me and I’ll be cheering them on – there is so much great stuff still to come.
— Albert Penello (@albertpenello) April 24, 2018
I want to say thank you to all the fans and followers for the support and encouragement and great feedback over the years. It’s been awesome meeting and talking with so many of you. The FANS are the energy that keeps the team going so keep it up!!
— Albert Penello (@albertpenello) April 24, 2018
Penello was the driving force behind Microsoft’s marketing plans for the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Kinect. His most recent role at the company was leading the strategic marketing and planning for every Xbox device. Dozens of people wished Penello well on Twitter, including Microsoft’s executive vice president Phil Spencer.
Best of luck my friend, it’s been great working together over the years and thank you for all you’ve done for Xbox. Looking forward to seeing what’s next for you.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) April 24, 2018
Penello also posted a longer goodbye message on Facebook, which can be viewed below.
“Well, it’s hard to believe I’m posting this, but after almost 18 years I made the decision to leave Microsoft. There aren’t the words to describe how much Xbox has meant to me, but even more important are all the amazing people I got to work with.
I’m going to miss seeing these people every day, and there will never be another time in my career as monumental as what I got to be a part of.
But – it’s time for a change. Time to learn new things and challenge myself again. I’m excited about my new opportunity and I’ll be talking more about that soon. In the meantime, I’m going to take a few weeks off to recharge before I start the new job, and reflect a lot on the amazing time I’ve had at Xbox.”