Robert J. Bach (born December 31, 1961), commonly known as Robbie Bach, is an American businessman. He was the President of Entertainment & Devices Division at

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

. He led the division that was responsible for the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

, Zune, Games for Windows,

Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft Mobile for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design languag ...

and the Microsoft TV platform. After 22 years at

, Robbie announced his retirement from Microsoft effective in the fall of 2010. Robbie has spoken to corporate, academic and civic groups across the country and in 2015 completed his first book, Xbox Revisited: A Game Plan for Corporate and Civic Renewal.New York Times Article, May 25,2010
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Biography

Robbie Bach was born in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

and is the son of a former Schlitz executive. He graduated from

Richard J. Reynolds High School Richard J. Reynolds High School now the Richard J. Reynolds Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts (often simply R. J. Reynolds High School or Reynolds) is a high school in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools located in Winston-S ...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

in 1980. Robbie was a Morehead Scholar at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

where he graduated with highest honors in economics and was also named an Academic All-American on the Tar Heel's varsity tennis team. Robbie went to work for

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

for two years before going on to become an Arjay Miller Scholar at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Graduate School of Business where he earned his MBA. He joined

in 1988 and was with the company until 2010. He is currently serving on the board of several companies and non-profit organizations. He is now focused on bringing his experiences to positively impact communities through his public speaking engagements and recently published book - Xbox Revisited: A Game Plan for Corporate and Civic Renewal. He is married with three children.

Microsoft career

Robbie Bach joined Microsoft in 1988 and over the next 22 years worked in various marketing, general management and business leadership roles.

Microsoft Office

As the top marketing executive in charge of Microsoft Office during the 1990s, Bach battled against WordPerfect and Lotus when they had 80% market share to Microsoft's 20%. Microsoft Office suite became Microsoft's second most profitable product, garnering billions in revenue.

Microsoft Europe

From 1990 to 1992, Bach served as the business operations manager for Microsoft Europe, reporting to the president of Microsoft Europe in Paris, where he coordinated business planning and strategy, budgeting, and special projects. He also helped unify Microsoft's once-divided European local units.

President, Entertainment & Devices Division

As president of the Entertainment & Devices (E&D) Division at Microsoft Corp., Robbie Bach drove the company's Connected Entertainment vision, offering consumers new and branded entertainment experiences across music, gaming, video and mobile communications. Bach's responsibilities included guiding new software, services and hardware throughout Microsoft's entertainment and mobility platforms, and bringing those solutions to market with retailers and partners. Bach also managed Microsoft's worldwide retail relationships as well as media and entertainment partner relationships.

Microsoft titles

* Product Manager (Microsoft Works) * Business Operations Manager (Europe) * Vice President of Marketing (Desktop Applications Division) * Vice President of the Learning (Entertainment and Productivity Division) * Vice President of the Home and Retail division * Senior Vice President of Home and Entertainment Division * President of the Entertainment and Devices Division

Board memberships

Boys & Girls Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, has i ...

: Board Chairman 2008 - 2010; Board of Governors 2005–Present. *

Sonos Sonos, Inc. is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. The company was founded in 2002 by John MacFarlane, Craig Shelburne, Tom Cullen, and Trung Mai. Sonos has partnered with over 100 companies th ...

: Board of Governors 2011–Present. *

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado ...

: Board of Directors 2011–Present. *

Bipartisan Policy Center The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that promotes bipartisanship. The organization aims to combine ideas from both the Republican and Democratic parties to address U.S. policy challenges. History BPC w ...

: Board of Directors 2016–Present. * Brooks Sports: Board of Advisers 2011–2015. * Year Up Puget Sound: Board of Directors 2012–Present. *

Space Needle The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a List of Seattle landmarks, Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne, Seattle, Lower Queen An ...

: Board of Directors 2011–Present. * Maninis Inc.: Co-Owner 2014–Present.

References

External links

Robert J. Bach's bio page at Microsoft PressPass

* ttp://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20128013-75/the-inside-story-of-how-microsoft-killed-its-courier-tablet/ The Inside Story of How Microsoft Killed its Courier Tablet - November 1, 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, Robert J. Living people Microsoft employees People from Peoria, Illinois University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni North Carolina Tar Heels men's tennis players Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni 1961 births Corporate executives American business executives Richard J. Reynolds High School alumni