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Xbox marketing lead Albert Penello is to depart Microsoft, he announced on social media.
Having been at the platform holder since 2000, he was instrumental in the launch of the original Xbox, Xbox 360 and Kinect as director of marketing. Moving to senior director in 2009 and then to senior director for Xbox console marketing he was again instrumental in releasing the Xbox One family of hardware, including the recently-launched Xbox One X.
He hasn’t revealed where he’s going next, simply saying in a Facebook post that “it’s time for a change.” He continued: “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.”
You can read the full statement below:
On Twitter, Penello said he’ll still be “cheering [the team at Xbox] on” as “there is so much great stuff still to come.” Here is his statement on Twitter, followed by the reaction of Microsoft’s general manager of games marketing Aaron Greenberg:
I remember the day you joined the team and we sat together in that hallway in the very early days of Xbox. Albert, you have had a tremendous impact and we will miss you deeply. Wish you the best brother, go do epic shit and #BleedGreen
— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) April 24, 2018
Penello added in another tweet that meeting the fans over the years has been “awesome” and that they are “the energy that keeps the team going”:
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
