Ron Huddleston, One Commercial Partner architect, departs Microsoft - at least for now

Ron Huddleston, the architect of Microsoft's One Commercial Partner (CVP) model that was the basis for a major re-organization of the company's sales and partner network functions, has reportedly stepped away from the company. Reports from an independent source and a published account at RCPMag.com describe Huddleston's departure as a matter of family leave.

Reports are that Gavriella Schuster will take over leadership of OCP in Huddleston's place. Schuster had been running Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Group and reported to Huddleston.

We've reached out to Microsoft for comment but have not yet received a response.

Huddleston, a Microsoft corporate vice president, spoke to Dynamics partners at the recent eXtreme365 conference in November, where he explained that OCP had reshaped Microsoft's partner-facing roles. He said at the time:

"[We have] put lots of effort into trying to take everything Microsoft can offer and bring it together to leverage it...We've brought together all the experts, resources, tools, and programs. That is One Commercial Partner. We brought them together aligned to three motions that align to you the partner, not Microsoft."

While the structure and high level approach was well received, partners were eager to see how OCP would land as a full-fledged global operating model through its three components: build-with, sell-with, and go-to-market.