Developer of Microsoft Word, Simonyi leaving for startup
Charles Simonyi, a computer scientist who joined Microsoft when it had 40 employees and held the title of Chief Architect until a few years ago is leaving to start his own startup, Intentional Software. At Xerox PARC, Simonyi developed Bravo, a pioneering graphical text-editing program, that became the basis for Microsoft Word.
Mr. Simonyi's departure, to be announced today, will leave Microsoft with only three senior people from the team that led the company in the early 1980's: Bill Gates, a co-founder and the company's chairman; Steven A. Ballmer, the chief executive; and Jeffrey S. Raikes, a group vice president...
Mr. Simonyi has left Microsoft with the right to use the intellectual property he developed and patented while working there. And Microsoft holds a right to be the first to negotiate with Intentional Software if the company comes up for sale.