Microsoft exec Peggy Johnson joins troubled augmented reality start-up Magic Leap as CEO

  • Date: 07-Jul-2020
  • Source: CNBC
  • Sector:Technology
  • Country:Jordan
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Microsoft exec Peggy Johnson joins troubled augmented reality start-up Magic Leap as CEO

Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of business development at Microsoft, speaks during the Wall Street Journal D.Live global technology conference in Laguna Beach, Calif., on Oct. 17, 2017.

Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Microsoft executive Peggy Johnson will join Magic Leap as CEO in August, the company announced Tuesday.

Johnson joins the augmented reality start-up after leading Microsoft's M&A strategy and launching its venture fund as executive vice president of business development. She was hired by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in 2014 after a 24-year career at Qualcomm, where she worked in several roles, including running the internet services unit. At Microsoft, Johnson has served as a member of the company's senior leadership team and navigated Microsoft through major partnership deals and acquisitions, including its $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn in 2016.

Magic Leap's announcement comes after its founder and CEO Rony Abovitz announced in May he would step down from the role, saying in a statement that with changes at the company, "it became clear to us that a change in my role was a natural next step."

Founded in 2011, Magic Leap was the subject of extensive hype in its early days, and managed to raise about $3 billion from Alphabet's Google