(FORTUNE Magazine) - Kevin Johnson is an unusual specimen: a hard-headed operator with Gatesian shrewdness -- and Oprah-like personal skills. "I love business, I love technology, I love customers, and I love people," he says.

It's startling to hear a Microsoft (Research) executive get all bear-huggy, but that's the way Johnson is. "Everybody looks up to him," says Baris Cetinok, a marketing manager.

Kevin Johnson, Microsoft

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Last summer CEO Steve Ballmer gave Johnson, 45, two huge new assignments. He became co-president -- and by year's end sole president -- of the all-important Windows platform and services division ($24.5 billion in revenues out of $40 billion total). And he was paired with new chief technology officer Ray Ozzie to oversee a huge change at Microsoft -- moving from shrink-wrapped software to an ad-supported online model. Ballmer calls the duo "Frick and Frack."

Johnson's new operational and strategic responsibilities are a big change from his last job, as head of sales and marketing. When "KJ" ran U.S. sales four years ago, customer satisfaction was at an all-time low. Viruses were eroding faith in Microsoft's competence; a new, less flexible product-licensing plan was turning off corporate customers; and free open-source software was beginning its relentless competitive assault.

At a 2002 gathering of salespeople in New Orleans, Johnson showed videos of respected staffers talking frankly about their dealings with frustrated customers. "You could just see the pain on their faces," says Johnson. "One person said, 'Sometimes I get exhausted representing this company.' The place was just dead silent. People were crying. And up on stage I was thinking, 'Maybe I brought them down too far.'"

Then he announced what he called a "Make It Right Fund" that would give salespeople unlimited resources to solve customer problems. "The place went wild," he recalls. Soon afterward he got the global sales job. The fund was important symbolism, and at no more than $40 million a year, it turned out to be an excellent investment: On Johnson's watch in global sales, revenue increased $11 billion. Customer satisfaction rose to an all-time high.

Joe Marengi is probably the biggest customer of all. He oversees the Americas for Dell, and says Johnson brought a "refreshing" shift to the two companies' relationship: "If he thinks something they're doing is wrong, he'll tell me, even if I don't see it."

Candor and friendliness -- the new face of Microsoft?