Former Xbox chief operating officer Helen Chiang has rejected a claim that she was fired for a policy violation, responding after her departure from Microsoft on October 23. In a LinkedIn statement, Chiang called the claim inaccurate and said she had concerns about how standards were applied in her case.
An anonymous Microsoft source had told Eurogamer that Chiang was terminated for policy violations. Microsoft declined to discuss individual personnel matters at the time, while thanking Chiang for her 21 years of service.
Chiang said she did not leak confidential company information to the press. She added that she had never communicated with a journalist outside interviews authorized by the company as part of her job, including journalists who contacted her after her departure.
She also said she did not leave Xbox to join a competitor and denied engaging in discrimination, bullying, harassment, insider trading, embezzlement or other fraudulent activity. Those denials were separate from the policy violation claim attributed to Eurogamer’s anonymous source.
Chiang rejected the idea that she left after being passed over for a bigger role. She said she had not actively sought greater responsibility since having children and had not interviewed for a job since 2011. She said she did not ask for the COO position and was promoted into it in July.
Her departure came roughly three months into that role, which carried responsibility for Xbox content, hardware, platform and services. Chiang previously led the Minecraft franchise. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said other leaders would divide Chiang’s responsibilities until Microsoft appointed a successor.
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