Microsoft poaches Samsung VP to lead Windows Phone 7 team

Samsung has been killing it in the last few years, and Microsoft is hoping some of that goodness rubs off by acquiring their VP of of consumer and enterprise services Gavin Kim to head the Windows Phone as General Manager.

His remit: “I will be responsible to help set the future direction for the Windows Phone platform and to accelerate Microsoft’s trajectory to win the hearts and minds of consumers, carriers, device manufacturers, developers and partners,”

“In my experience, there is an already fervent base of Windows Phone supporters out there and they all get it. They are passionate, and already very vocal about it … so, it is really my new job to make sure we reflect that message clearly in our product and marketing collaborations with all of our partners to create more Windows Phone believers.”

Kim will work to make Windows Phone a top choice among consumers.

“Each time a consumer goes to buy a smartphone from a carrier or retail store, Windows Phone has to be on their short list. And, with the Windows Phone 7.5 release, I think Microsoft is closing the gap rapidly and removing all doubt about their place in mobile.”

Hopefully this will also involve some more goodies from the Samsung smartphone stable running Windows Phone.

“Samsung has a very bright future ahead of itself,” Kim said. “They have brought to market fantastic products, have a coveted technology innovation pipeline, and are committed to bringing these innovations to consumers across a vast consumer electronics portfolio. There is a tremendous amount of synergy between Microsoft and Samsung and the relationship between the companies will only continue to grow stronger and more collaborative over time.”

“I see this as an amazing opportunity to work with industry talents like Andy Lees, Chris Capossela, Terry Myerson, Joe Belfiore, Achim Berg, and others, to build on their incredible successes and continue to move the ball forward here in the US and globally,” he explained. “I anticipate I’m going to learn a lot from them, and I hope to equally contribute my experience back.”

“The fact that I’ve chosen to join the team means we get along well, we believe in each other’s capabilities, and we share a common vision, attitude, and belief about the products and partnerships that the team is creating. And, probably most importantly, we all want to win.”

Read the full interview at BGR here.