I changed roles within my company in jan 2009. I interviewed with, was hired by and came to work for manager #1. around april we had a reorg and for purely bureaucratic reasons they had to introduce another layer of middle management. a senior peer became manager #2.
however, while i have a decent relationship with him, and i think he does appreciate my work, i don't want him to write my letter of recommendation. i don't think he is a good writer, nor would he be very generous (his personality).
moreover, i have closer daily interaction with manager #1 as our roles and scope is more aligned. manager #2 works on entirely different areas and he is not naturally involved in my work.
manager #1 has more insight into my decision making, my contributions etc.
so when stanford says "direct supervisor" is it okay to skip one level of chain of command in this situation? should i write and explain it in a supporting letter?