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Paul Allen's tech adviser out after less than six months: source

Seattle Seahawks owner and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (C) waves to the trading floor after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange January 30, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

SEATTLE (Reuters) - An executive hired by billionaire Paul Allen to be his personal and professional technology adviser has left the job less than six months after starting work for the Microsoft Corp co-founder, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Parag Garg, who took the job in November, was a high-profile hire for Allen. It was not clear if Garg was fired or resigned, the source said.

Garg previously worked at Amazon.com Inc and before that worked on Microsoft's Xbox team. Garg claims on his LinkedIn page to be the founder of Amazon's recently launched Fire TV system but Amazon did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the statement.

Representatives for Allen did not immediately return a request for comment. Garg could not immediately be reached.

Allen is a large technology investor through his Vulcan Inc vehicle and also has a valuable real estate and sports portfolio, including the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

Allen, like his former business partner and schoolfriend Bill Gates, now devotes a lot of his time to philanthropy, but his personal foundation is going through a period of staff turnover.

Long-time vice president of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Sue Coliton, left last month after 15 years working with the Allens. The foundation, led by Allen's sister Jody Allen, is still searching for an executive to run its philanthropy operations.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)