Anthony J. "Tony" Bates (born 29 April 1967) is the former Executive Vice President of Microsoft responsible for Business Development, Strategy and Evangelism, having previously served as the president of the Skype Division at Microsoft. He is currently the President of GoPro.A self-taught programmer, Bates has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the communications and Internet industries. An expert on Internet technologies, he has published 12 IETF RFCs in the areas of Internet Routing and Operations and he has 10 patents in Layer 2 and Layer 3 innovations.Bates began his career in network operation and internet infrastructure, and he now focuses on integrating communications from “living room to the board room” at Skype. Throughout his career, Bates has served on the boards of many technology companies, including YouTube, the video-sharing website; TokBox, a PaaS provider of video conference API's; BubbleMotion, a voice-based messaging and blogging service; and LoveFilm, an online video streaming and rental service.According to reports, he is rumoured to have left Microsoft following the decision by the company's Board to appoint Satya Nadella as successor to Steve Ballmer.