Microsoft Names Amy Hood as First Female Finance Chief

Microsoft Corp. named Amy Hood its first female chief financial officer, putting a 10-year veteran in charge of debt, finances and a growing cash pile at a software maker beset by plunging demand for personal computers.

Hood, 41, becomes CFO effective immediately, succeeding Peter Klein, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said in a statement yesterday. The search had focused on Hood, finance chief of the business division, and Tami Reller, her counterpart at the Windows unit, according to people with knowledge of the matter.