"He has progressed onto a new role and is no longer in charge of xxxx" Does it mean this person was promoted?

Just received an email with that sentence, why did the person use "progress" instead of "promoted" ?

I wanted to make sure the whether the person was promoted or not to congratulate them. Also, any tips?

Question

"He has progressed onto a new role and is no longer in charge of xxxx" Does it mean this person was promoted?

Just received an email with that sentence, why did the person use "progress" instead of "promoted" ?

I wanted to make sure the whether the person was promoted or not to congratulate them. Also, any tips?

Answer

It could be a promotion but not necessarily in the same company. This person has moved forward (progressed) somehow and yes, you can congratulate him/her.

:)

Answer

It's a diplomatic way of saying he has moved to a new role, with the idea of promotion. The "pro" part of it means forward, to advance. Portuguese is from Latin also, so "pro" means forward, and 'gress' means to step, to walk. He advanced; he stepped forward to a new role. 
"promoted" is a forward step, but in the same office, same career. 
Progressed could infer that he has a better job, but in a different sphere - similar but not directly above the previous job.