Pilla, who has worked at Microsoft for 20 years, was previously general manager for UK PR. He started his career at Ketchum in the US before moving to Microsoft in 1996 and transferring to the UK in 1998.
Little else is known about Pilla, who has risen virtually without trace. "I am private by nature," he told PRWeek in an interview in January 2012. "And I'm a traditionalist I guess. PR is about the brand, never about the PR person."
Microsoft this week confirmed Pilla’s appointment but declined to make any further comment.
He replaces Taylor who has left the PR industry after 23 years for a complete change of career. She is now working as showroom manager at the Original Bedstead Company, a small boutique UK furniture chain.
"She is a highly capable individual who is helping us with all aspects of our business while studying interior design," said a source at the Original Bedstead Company, who asked not to be named.
In 2013, Taylor told PRWeek how she was working to help Microsoft recapture its youth.
