Head of Microsoft’s Zune to retire

Microsoft Corp. said Vice President Bryan Lee, who led the release of its Zune music player, would retire in the next several weeks and be replaced by J Allard, who oversaw the device’s design and development.

Lee, a six-year Microsoft veteran, had been in charge of Zune’s business development and marketing. Allard will take over those tasks, the company said.

Zune went on sale in November, challenging Apple Inc.’s dominant iPod player.