And I mean that literally: Dona Sarkar is moving on to a new role at Microsoft, and hopefully there will be major changes.
“Dona Sarkar [has] been a steward for the program and tireless advocate for the community and the important role you play,” Microsoft corporate vice president Eran Megiddo writes. “Though bittersweet, today I’m proud to announce that Dona will be moving to a new role at the company. She will be joining the Microsoft Developer Relations team to lead advocacy for Citizen Developers, especially how they use the Power Platform (Microsoft Flow, PowerApps and Power BI).”
The Windows Insider Program plays an outsized role in how Microsoft enthusiasts interact with the company, but it has, unfortunately, had little positive impact on the quality of Windows 10. So I’m hoping that this change will lead to some improvements in the program. Certainly, Dona has seemed distracted by her other ventures, especially this past year, and the program seems to have moved from being engineering-focused to being purely about marketing.
Microsoft says that it is currently looking for a new leader for the Windows Insider Program. In the meantime, the old crew will continue interacting with the community, though it’s not clear if they too will have to find work elsewhere at the company. Hopefully, the Insider Program can return to its former glory either way.