Former Xbox COO Helen Chiang Releases Statement After Leaving - News
by William D'Angelo , posted 54 minutes ago / 257 Views
It was reported last week Xbox chief operating officer Helen Chiang had stepped own after taking the role in July of this year. She had worked at Microsoft for 21 years. Before serving as Xbox COO, she was the head of Minecraft.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma in an internal stated, "Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today. I’m grateful for her years of service and wish her well."
Chiang has now released her own statement on LinkedIn with the title of "Clarity is Kindness."
Read Helen Chiang's statement below:
Clarity is Kindness
There has been some speculation about my abrupt departure from Microsoft, including claims that I was “fired for a policy violation”. That’s not accurate and while I won’t turn this into a play-by-play, silence should not be mistaken for agreement. What has been said about my departure, and what has been left unsaid, has created a picture of me that I hardly recognize. It’s important to me to set the record straight.
First, I did not leak confidential company information to the press. I have never communicated with any journalist outside the limited, company-authorized interviews I’ve done as part of my job. That includes every journalist who reached out this week seeking my side of the story.
Second, I did not leave XBOX to join a competitor. You don’t spend two decades somewhere without developing a deep loyalty to the people, teams, and businesses you’ve helped build. XBOX was never just another stop in my career. My end game was always to keep building here.
Third, I did not engage in discrimination, bullying, harassment, insider trading, embezzlement, or other fraudulent activity. I stand by my record: both the results I delivered and the way I have treated people throughout my career. I won’t let speculation define my character or erase that record.
Lastly, I did not leave because I was passed over for a bigger role. Since having children, I’ve been intentional about how I define ambition and success. I haven’t actively sought out bigger roles or increased responsibilities, and the last time I interviewed for a job was in 2011. My reputation and results paved the way for the opportunities that followed. I went where the company believed I was needed and where I could have the greatest impact. I did not ask for my most recent role, either. I was promoted into it in July.
I believe in fairness, accountability, and holding ourselves to the standards we expect of others. Those standards only mean something when they’re applied consistently. I have serious concerns about how they were applied in my case, and I believe those concerns deserve to be taken seriously.
I share this because I don’t want my departure reduced to an inaccurate story about incompetence, ambition for the next big job, or a Nelson-level scandal. My story is about staying true to your core values, especially when it is hard. That’s the legacy I hope to leave behind.
To everyone who has reached out with hugs, love, and support: thank you. So many of you have reminded me of the wonderful times we’ve shared over the past 20 years and the impact we’ve had on one another. Some of you I haven’t been in touch with for several years, yet you still took the time to check on me. Others are people I’ve never even met, but you reached out anyway. That speaks volumes about the care and humanity in our industry and the connections that transcend where we work.
This is not how I ever imagined my story here would end. And it is not the whole story.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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Trying to clear things up by withholding the reason you left is quite the play lol
Eh. I don’t see why it matters to us the reason somebody chose to depart from their job. Why would I be due the context surrounding why, for instance, you chose to leave whatever your last job was?
Jeez, just say why you left.
