Peggy Johnson, Microsoft’s Executive VP of Business Development, is slated to take the reins as the new CEO of Magic Leap, effective August 1st.

This comes nearly a month after co-founder Rony Abovitz announced he would be stepping down as CEO, citing the company’s need for leadership to further commercialize Magic Leap tech for enterprise.

Magic Leap recently pivoted to the enterprise space after seeing lackluster success with its $2,300 AR headset, Magic Leap 1 (previously known as Magic Leap One Developer Edition). A recent $350 million funding round has ensured the company more runway as it no doubt strives to justify its already massive $3 billion funding, which has arrived from sources including Google, Alibaba, Qualcomm, AT&T, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and Axel Springer.

Image courtesy Microsoft

In a company statement, Johnson says she’s vowed to “accelerate Magic Leap’s growth and bring transformative enterprise solutions to market.”

“As CEO, I look forward to strategically building enduring relationships that connect Magic Leap’s game-changing technology and pipeline to the wide-ranging digital needs of enterprises of all sizes and industries,” said Johnson. “It is with great pride and sincere appreciation to the Magic Leap Board, Rony and the entire team, as well as to Satya Nadella at Microsoft, that I assume the role of leading this visionary business into the future.”

Over Johnson’s 24 years at Qualcomm, she held various leadership positions and served as a member of Qualcomm’s Executive Committee. At Microsoft Johnson oversaw strategic partnerships and transactions, as well as strategic investments through Microsoft’s corporate venture fund, M12.

In addition to her duties at Magic Leap, Johnson also serves on the Board of Directors of the global investment management firm BlackRock, Inc.

Newsletter graphic

This article may contain affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product we may receive a small commission which helps support the publication. More information.


Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • asdf

    either shes really dumb or theyre paying her so much she doesnt care.

    • Nejham Mosquera

      She might also be really good at her job. Good enough to turn around the company’s situation.

      • Jim Cherry

        No one not even satya could pull that off for magic leap.

    • sfmike

      I’ll go with the paying her a lot of money. The end result won’t matter to her because her corrupt nest will be well feathered. That’s American capitalism in the 21st century.

      • Jistuce

        I’d wager Magic Leap is beyond saving and her REAL job is to find a competent tech company that wants to buy them for their patents.

    • mfx

      Probably she accepted 20x time your rate to play the new good face of the company. She’s very probably a political shark so no she’s not dumb don’t worry.

      • adsf

        you mean 200x YOUR rate right?

  • LoneWuff326

    the way rony abovitz hyped magic leap its just criminal

  • 120fov or above and people will want one.

  • James Cobalt
  • Ted Joseph

    I still think that Apple, Samsung, or Google has a chance to dominate this market. They already have phones that millions of people purchase. Utilize the phone processor to bring down the weight of these headsets to a “glasses” type design, ensure the tracking is spot on, and FOV is at least 120 deg. The first one to attain this – will most likely win the AR field… She made a mistake becoming CEO of a company that doesnt have mobile tech to run all the hard work… Magic Leap has an uphill battle with this tech…