Microsoft’s cybersecurity business is being rebuilt from the inside out, and the person running the overhaul isn’t being quiet about what it takes. Hayete Gallot, who took charge of the division in February, has replaced several senior executives, consolidated engineering teams, and cut hundreds of roles as she pushes the world’s largest cybersecurity software seller toward AI-powered products. In an internal memo, she told staff the industry is being “reimagined from the ground up.” The message was blunt about what comes next. “It will reward the companies that see the shift early, make the hard choices, and execute with discipline,” Gallot wrote, per The Information, which first reported the shake-up. “A few months ago, we made those choices. Now we must execute.” Microsoft declined to comment.
Microsoft security Copilot leads a bet against OpenAI and Anthropic
The logic behind the reshuffle is money and threat. Customers are increasingly worried about AI-powered hacks, and Microsoft wants products that answer that fear directly. Gallot is prioritizing tools like Microsoft Security Copilot, code scanners that hunt for vulnerabilities, and software that lets companies monitor their own AI agents. The company is also chasing spending that’s currently flowing to Anthropic and OpenAI, positioning itself as a cheaper, more secure end-to-end option for corporate clients.That pivot follows years of scrutiny. The reshuffle sits on top of an organization Microsoft has been reshaping since 2022, when it recruited Charlie Bell from Amazon to build a dedicated security group. The pressure only grew after the Department of Homeland Security condemned the company for what it called “a cascade of security failures” that let Chinese hackers reach emails from thousands of customers. Microsoft responded by making security the top priority for every employee, even folding it into performance reviews.
Microsoft layoffs sweep out veteran executives as Gallot reshapes security
The leadership turnover is significant. Gallot has replaced executives who reported to Bell, who remains at Microsoft in a new engineering quality role. That group had already been shifting: last year the company moved its chief information security officer, Igor Tsyganskiy, out of the security organization and under the Cloud + AI group, a signal of how tightly AI and security are now bound together.To fill the gaps, Gallot is leaning on familiar faces. She brought back Microsoft veteran Naseem Tuffaha as corporate vice president, and hired Indian-origin executive Rajesh Sundaram, who previously held leadership roles at NetApp and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.Gallot herself is a returnee, having spent 15 years at Microsoft before leaving for Google Cloud, where she ran customer experience. Announcing her comeback in February, CEO Satya Nadella said she “brings an ethos that combines product building with value realization for customers, which is critical right now.” Now she’s the one asking everyone else to execute.
