# Steven Sinofsky

> Steven Sinofsky spent 23 years at Microsoft building some of the most-used software in history - Office, Windows 7, Windows 8, and secretly, the Surface tablet. A meticulous operator who refused to promise features until they were ready, he rose to become President of the Windows Division and Microsoft's most likely successor to Steve Ballmer before his abrupt departure in 2012. Today he's a Board Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and writes Hardcore Software, a serialized Substack memoir chronicling the rise and fall of the PC revolution from the inside.

- **Role:** Board Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
- **Organizations:** Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Microsoft (former), Tanium (board), Everlaw (board)
- **From:** New York City, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A., cum laude, Chemistry and Computer Science, Cornell University, M.S. in Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Visiting Scholar, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Led development of Windows 7, one of Microsoft's most successful OS releases (450M+ users), Secretly designed and shipped Microsoft's first Surface computers (Surface RT and Surface Pro), Oversaw six major Office releases spanning Office 95 through Office 2003

## Career timeline

- **1984-1985** — Summer internships at Martin Marietta Data Systems, teaching C programming
- **1989** — Joined Microsoft as software design engineer, working on Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC)
- **1994** — Joined Office Product Unit as Group Program Manager; sent the famous 'Cornell Is Wired!' email to Bill Gates, which helped trigger the Internet Tidal Wave memo of 1995
- **1994-2006** — Led Office division through six major releases: Office 95, 97, 2000, XP, 2003; oversaw Ribbon UI, Clippy, Outlook, Visio, OneNote, SharePoint
- **1998** — Promoted to VP of Office
- **2000** — Promoted to Senior VP of Office
- **2006** — Moved to Windows to lead Windows Experience Team
- **2009** — Promoted to President of Windows Division
- **2009** — Co-led Windows 7 development with Jon DeVaan; wrote 1,000+ pages of blog posts via Engineering Windows 7 blog
- **2010** — Windows 7 reaches 450M+ users; Microsoft posts record revenue
- **2012** — Led Windows 8 launch; secretly developed Surface tablet hidden from OEM partners
- **2012** — Departed Microsoft in November, effective December 31
- **2013** — Joined Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) as Board Partner
- **2009** — Published 'One Strategy' co-authored with Harvard's Marco Iansiti
- **2020** — Launched 'Hardcore Software' serialized memoir on Substack

## Achievements

- Led development of Windows 7, one of Microsoft's most successful OS releases (450M+ users)
- Secretly designed and shipped Microsoft's first Surface computers (Surface RT and Surface Pro)
- Oversaw six major Office releases spanning Office 95 through Office 2003
- His 1994 'Cornell Is Wired!' email to Bill Gates helped trigger Microsoft's pivot to the internet
- Wrote 1,000+ pages of transparent blog posts during Windows 7 development - unprecedented corporate transparency
- Authored 'One Strategy' with Harvard Business School professor Marco Iansiti (2009)
- Wrote 'Hardcore Software,' a ~768-page serialized Substack memoir of the PC era
- Board Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prestigious VC firms in Silicon Valley
- Early investor in Tanium, Product Hunt, Everlaw, Box, and Local Motion
- Widely considered the most likely successor to Steve Ballmer before his departure

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Fortune reported on Sinofsky's connections to Jeffrey Epstein, including hiring Epstein as a paid negotiator on his Microsoft exit deal and sharing confidential Microsoft information with him. Sinofsky has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
- **2026-02** — Bloomberg and other outlets reported DOJ document releases revealing Sinofsky sought Epstein's career advice after leaving Microsoft in 2012
- **2025-01** — Continues actively posting on X/Twitter (@stevesi) on topics including AI, software strategy, and tech history
- **2024-09** — Quote on AI noted by developer Simon Willison; continues writing for a16z and Hardcore Software Substack

## Links

- Website: https://learningbyshipping.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sinofsky/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/stevesi

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/steven-sinofsky
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-23