Doug Burgum will leave his position at Microsoft today, ending a chapter that began 24 years ago.
In a statement, Burgum said he's grateful for the opportunity he's had to work with partners, customers and team members across the world.
"We completed another record year this summer, and the future is very bright for Microsoft and for the Microsoft Dynamics products," he said.
"The last 24-plus years have gone so fast that sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday that we were an unknown software startup - just a bunch of kids with a dream - and lucky enough to have a few folks who believed in us."
Burgum, who joined Fargo's Great Plains Software in 1983, helped guide the company through its infancy and into a merger with worldwide software giant Microsoft in 2001.
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The Fargo businessman announced last September his intention to step down as senior vice president of the Microsoft Business Solutions group to spend more time with his family.
Burgum, 51, has said his decision to leave the company was not a result of pressure from Microsoft executives for him to move to company headquarters in Redmond, Wash.
Instead, he believes it's more effective for the senior leadership to collaborate from one location.
Burgum intended to leave the company June 30, but decided to stay until the end of August to help with the leadership transition.
Kirill Tatarinov now has the position and oversees all aspects of the Microsoft Business Solutions group on the Fargo, Redmond, Wash., and Copenhagen, Denmark, campuses.
