Steve Ballmer, top dog at Microsoft, is set to retire. Over the years Steve has been more than just the CEO, he’s been a rather vocal and infamous figurehead who doesn’t shy away from the limelight.
His retirement date is set to be sometime within the next 12 months after Microsoft have sourced themselves a replacement. Steve is just 57 years old.
Ballmer states that..
We’d love to hear your thoughts. Shares were up 9% following the announcement. I particularly love the Ballmerism he’s left us with..
” There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time.”
Classic..
Here’s the press release:
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to retire within 12 months
Microsoft Corp. today announced that Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer has decided to retire as CEO within the next 12 months, upon the completion of a process to choose his successor. In the meantime, Ballmer will continue as CEO and will lead Microsoft through the next steps of its transformation to a devices and services company that empowers people for the activities they value most.
“There is never a perfect time for this type of transition, but now is the right time,” Ballmer said. “We have embarked on a new strategy with a new organization and we have an amazing Senior Leadership Team. My original thoughts on timing would have had my retirement happen in the middle of our company’s transformation to a devices and services company. We need a CEO who will be here longer term for this new direction.”
The Board of Directors has appointed a special committee to direct the process. This committee is chaired by John Thompson, the board’s lead independent director, and includes Chairman of the Board Bill Gates, Chairman of the Audit Committee Chuck Noski and Chairman of the Compensation Committee Steve Luczo. The special committee is working with Heidrick & Struggles International Inc., a leading executive recruiting firm, and will consider both external and internal candidates.
“The board is committed to the effective transformation of Microsoft to a successful devices and services company,” Thompson said. “As this work continues, we are focused on selecting a new CEO to work with the company’s senior leadership team to chart the company’s course and execute on it in a highly competitive industry.”
Retirement my foot, he’s so been pushed!
57…
Hes been a bit of a comedic figure, his rants and sweaty ramblings will be missed!!
…and up goes Microsoft’s share price as a result. As Apple learnt to their cost in the 80s, don’t put a sales guy in charge of a technology company.
*cough* Tim Cook *cough* 🙂
hmm, I have no life and today I’m bored. What shall I do??? I KNOW! I’m gonna hate on Microsoft!!! Why, you ask?? Because it’s cool? It’s not???
hmm…
In my humble opinion, this can only be a great thing for Microsoft. Ballmer was – how can I put it politely? Not the greatest thing that happened to them, lets face it. I’m no Microsoft fan – never have been, but they make a lot of money. Most of it undeservedly if you ask me. They tend to brute force their way into markets, make a bit of a hash of things, then wonder why things went wrong.
In recent years, the XBox 360 has been a huge success – at least in the UK. I attribute this to the fact that they created a reasonably elegant console which for the first time in a few years (at the time) put up a challenge to the market leader, Sony. Not to mention Sony’s platform was quite restrictive and overpriced.
In their other markets, I’ve just observed them chasing the most profitable all the time. It’s a classic ‘money man’ CEO thing to do. Companies like Microsoft, who should really be on the forefront of innovation, should go their own way in a slightly quieter, more humble manner, and let the products speak for themselves. They have a load of cash in the bank, and they’re not putting it to good use at the moment, let’s face it.
Microsoft aren’t a particularly nice or good company now (read evil), and I think in this day and age, to be seen to be having some modicum of good intention at heart actually does you some good in the marketplace, especially if you can be highly profitable at the same time. Lets hope Ballmer’s successor is somewhat less of a prat.