On October 1, it was reported that Peter Lee, a senior executive at Microsoft, announced his departure on Wednesday after leading Microsoft's internal research division for an extended period. This year, several senior executives at Microsoft have announced their departures, including Rajesh Jha, head of Office and Windows businesses; Phil Spencer, CEO of Xbox; Frank Shaw, Chief Communications Officer; and Charlie Bell, head of security. Peter Lee joined Microsoft in 2010 and helped lead a research team of approximately 1,500 scientists focused on areas closely tied to Microsoft's business, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, search, robotics, and cryptography. These research efforts have led to the development of several new products for Microsoft, including the quantum computing chip launched last year, which Microsoft claims will shape the future of computing technology.