BBC Worldwide's head of sales and business development of digital media, Peter Mercier, has left the company to join Microsoft. He becomes Microsoft's senior director of content acquisitions and strategy and will develop partnerships for its entertainment and devices division building relationships across Xbox, Windows Media Centre and mobile platforms.

Mercier was head of mobile for BBC Worldwide before moving to the cross-platform role in 2008. He joined the BBC from mobile TV provider MobiTV. He follows Ashley Highfield, former BBC director of future media and technology, who joined Microsoft as MD and VP of consumer & online last November after four months as CEO of video-on-demand service Kangaroo, now at Arquiva.

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