**Editor’s Note: Click here to see which channel people were on the move in December and January.**

By Edward Gately

The latest shakeup in the cloud is the news that Andrew Higginbotham, who has led all of CenturyLink’s cloud and managed-services businesses, is leaving the company after more than 13 years.

CenturyLink spokesman Justin Lopinot confirmed Higginbotham’s departure as senior vice president of cloud and technology, and told Channel Partners “Andrew asked us to be clear that it’s his decision that he is leaving and that he’s going to be exploring new opportunities.”

“CenturyLink continues to take steps in our transformation to become an integrated provider of advanced IP-enabled network, cloud, hosting and IT services,” Lopinot said. “Aamir Hussain joined CenturyLink as chief technology officer in October 2014, and recently announced a new organizational structure for his team that aligns with CEO Glen Post’s plans to accelerate CenturyLink’s progress toward long-term growth.”

Jonathan King now leads Cloud and Managed Services/Business Development, and is responsible for leading product development strategy for cloud, hosting and managed services. Also, Jared Wray leads Platform & Application Framework and Development Operations, and is responsible for cloud platform development, innovation and application development, and customer development.

The new structure improves CenturyLink’s ability to develop and deliver new technologies and solutions, strengthens its focus on revenue generation and helps align its cost structure to become more competitive “in an environment of rapid technological change and innovation,” Lopinot said.

During his tenure, Higginbotham focused on finding growth opportunities for CenturyLink and helped facilitate the company’s increased emphasis on cloud computing. He helped grow CenturyLink from a rural telecom to the third-largest integrated communications provider in the United States.

Higginbotham played a key role in CenturyLink’s acquisition of Savvis in 2011, in addition to the company’s purchases of the assets of Ciber’s IT outsourcing business in 2012, and platform-as-a-service provider AppFog and public cloud provider Tier 3 in 2013.

Prior to joining CenturyLink, Higginbotham was COO of Privista, an Atlanta-based startup focused on internet privacy and identify theft. He also held senior technical roles in companies such as BellSouth and Fujitsu.

Higginbotham’s exit is the latest in a string of sudden departures of key executives connected to the cloud channel. Last week, news broke that Dan Foster had suddenly vacated his position leading MegaPath’s cloud services unit.