Microsoft promotes copyright debater
Microsoft has appointed company President Brad Smith as vice chair and announced it is buying back up to USD 60 billion in share plus raised its quarterly dividend by 11%. Smith has recently sided with publishers in discussions about copyright confronting competitor Google and others.
The new share repurchase program, which has no expiration date, may be terminated at any time, the company said.
Smith’s role as vice chair is by the company described as “an updated executive role”. Smith will continue to report to chairman and CEO Satya Nadella.
“This reflects the unique leadership role that Brad plays for the company, our board of directors and me, with governments and other external stakeholders around the world,” Nadella said in a statement.
The company said that this year’s shareholders meeting will be held virtually on November 30.
Smith, with a background as a lawyer, joined Microsoft in 1993. For three years he led its Legal and Corporate Affairs team in Europe, then five years as deputy general counsel, before being named the company’s general counsel in 2002 and senior vice president.
He has led a number of vital negotiations for the company including with the European Commission. Most lately, he has been active in the international discussions about copyright and compensation for publishers when big tech companies use publishers’ editorial content as done by Microsoft, Google, Facebook etc. Smith in a blog supported the Australian copyright legislation siding with publishers and confronting Google and Facebook that actively argued against the legislation.
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