Inside Microsoft, a powerful new AI executive is shaking up some of the company's most important businesses

Microsoft has appointed Charles Lamanna as the new head of Copilot, Agents, and Platform, a role that sees him taking charge of Office and Teams. Lamanna has been implementing a series of changes within his new unit, aiming to reshape how teams work. He has enforced a stricter Return-to-Office (RTO) policy for senior staff, recommending they work in offices four days a week, and has offered relocation to major hubs for those who comply.

Teams within this new combined unit have also undergone a restructuring to a flatter organizational structure, with middle managers being removed. This shift aligns with Lamanna's views on how AI agents are changing engineering, enabling faster decision-making, clearer ownership, and greater autonomy.

Previously, Lamanna oversaw Microsoft's Copilot and AI agent platforms, and now he also controls the Office productivity software and Teams, a service used by millions of workers. He took over these groups in October, following the departure of Ryan Roslansky, who was seen as a successor to Rajesh Jha, who retired in July.

Lamanna's expanded responsibilities make him a crucial figure in Microsoft's leadership transition, overseeing both its flagship workplace software and the AI tools that could transform how customers use its products. Recently, Lamanna's unit within Teams underwent a change in its span of control for engineering managers, increasing it to one manager per 12 individual contributors.

This restructuring is indicative of the shift in engineering functions due to the rise of AI, where agentic coding capabilities are becoming more prevalent, reducing the need for traditional managerial coordination.