Microsoft taps legal czar amid EU, OOXML woes
InternetNews | at | by Mike
Microsoft announced Monday it has hired a former European diplomat to lead its dealings with the European Union. The company's aim is to help the company face down legal and regulatory threats, among which are investigations regarding its controversial document interchange formats.
Meanwhile, a fourth nation has appealed the recent ratification of those formats as an International Organization for Standardization standard.
Slated to start July 1, former General Electric executive John Vassallo will be Microsoft's vice president of EU affairs as well as associate general counsel. At GE, he was senior counsel and director of European affairs. He has also previously served as Malta's ambassador to the EU, NATO and Belgium.