Microsoft targets new CEO this year

Microsoft is working hard to have Steve Ballmer's successor as Microsoft chief executive officer in place by the end of the year.

According to Bloomberg, the board is probing options it has for Microsoft's third CEO in its entire history, after co-founder and chairman Bill Gates and current CEO Steve Ballmer.

Bloomberg sources say the board is being advised in its head hunt by former Cisco exec and current managing director of private equity firm Silver lake, Charles Giancarlo.

Among names being thrown around as a potential successor to Ballmer are former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, Ford Motor Co CEO Alan Mulally, EBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe, former Microsoft exec Paul Maritz and Microsoft executive VP responsible for Business Development, Tony Bates.

Whoever the successor is, they will have to continue Ballmer's strategy of focusing Microsoft on providing devices and services to pull back ground dominated by rivals like Apple and Google. The new CEO will also have to integrate the acquired Nokia phone business into Microsoft.

Written by: James Delahunty @ 10 Oct 2013 6:07

hearme0

A new CEO of a company of this magnitude with have little change that is noticeable to most. This company is soooo autonomous that autopilot will do JUST FINE without an acting CEO for quite some time.

10.10.2013 15:26 #1

KillerBug

I'd like to see Balmer go...but if it is true that the options to replace him are a bunch of people who would continue his crappy policies then I don't see how it would matter. Everything Balmer touched lost money to the point that he didn't even get all of his bonuses; that's pretty pathetic when you consider that he basically ignored office (there still isn't even an android app) and it still did well enough against free competition that he got a bonus for it.

10.10.2013 19:16 #2

SomeBozo

Originally posted by KillerBug: I'd like to see Balmer go...but if it is true that the options to replace him are a bunch of people who would continue his crappy policies then I don't see how it would matter. Everything Balmer touched lost money to the point that he didn't even get all of his bonuses; that's pretty pathetic when you consider that he basically ignored office (there still isn't even an android app) and it still did well enough against free competition that he got a bonus for it. I'm right with you in your comments. Personally i've always felt Ballmer was more a salesman in the computer world that got to become CEO by luck. As a techy professional, geek, nerd, dork whatever you might call me some companies well let's say some car salesmen and lawyers are less slimy as a computer sales people.

That said, I wonder if Ballmer did the best he could given his perspective of only being a salesman and not really a technical savvy geek/nerd to drive a technology software company. Gates on the other hand I always felt was the right person to drive MS the way it needs to be. Sorry to see and think many of the people a week or so back asking for Gates to step down and out of MS, i don't think understand and value his abilities.

I've heard/read a lot of people saying the new CEO should come from out side MS as anyone from internal to MS would be more of the same, more of the same lack luster poor guidance for the company. I think is not valid. For example I know many people that work at MS, most don't like Win8, some do, most don't. More surprising a number of them work in Wind0ws itself. Which I'd suggest many people that either left MS or were pushed out are more of the old guard that drove MS technology wise in the 90's. Win8 might be great or fit on mobile devices with touch screens, funny to see people at work with Win8 && touch screens they still prefer using a mouse, i laughed the first time i saw it, watched one of them get a pop-up, and look around for their mouse for a few seconds as it was under something and finally clicked the message box..., way longer then it would of taken to simply touch the screen. I've seen that a few times, is kind of funny.

One question is can MS afford to make the missed stepped that has usually plagued them in the past where OS version alternates from good bad...? When MS was a (cough, cough) "Monopoly" and was the only game in town they could afford it, people had little choice to turn elsewhere, in comes the web and now most things are truely a "Wild Wild Web" where company would have trouble surviving. I say this as the web evolves thing become more services, people in just need ways to connect via text messages, mobile devices, or just about anything other than something which is an MS product, unless they used their free outlook e-mail....

With MS's lack of technical leadership since Ballmer has been at the wheel, has MS lost too much ground to remain relevant? But it doesn't seem just because someone worked at MS, that shouldn't prevent him from being a candidate for the CEO position.

10.10.2013 19:55 #3

bobiroc

You know I really had a little hope for Microsoft When Windows 7 and Office 2007/10 was released. Both are flagship products and both were very good IMO. Then somewhere they thought they could just become a gadget company and consumerize their products much like Apple does and totally alienated their enterprise and business oriented customers with Windows 8. I mean it is OK on a tablet but the whole "app store" ecosystem and touch organization of the OS does not suite well for people that need to use the computer for more that light weight touch apps.

Then came the XBOX One (which I know is a separate division) and I knew then Microsoft has lost it. Even though they have back peddled some of their decisions they are still in for a world of hurt if they do not get someone in there that can think and function in the right way for their customers both consumer and enterprise.

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10.10.2013 20:15 #4

SomeBozo

Originally posted by bobiroc: You know I really had a little hope for Microsoft When Windows 7 and Office 2007/10 was released. Both are flagship products and both were very good IMO. Then somewhere they thought they could just become a gadget company and consumerize their products much like Apple does and totally alienated their enterprise and business oriented customers with Windows 8. I mean it is OK on a tablet but the whole "app store" ecosystem and touch organization of the OS does not suite well for people that need to use the computer for more that light weight touch apps.

Then came the XBOX One (which I know is a separate division) and I knew then Microsoft has lost it. Even though they have back peddled some of their decisions they are still in for a world of hurt if they do not get someone in there that can think and function in the right way for their customers both consumer and enterprise. Yep i agree, i think was you describe it, ties right in to the point i was suggesting on MS is being driven more by a sales based model. The app store eco model would make MS a hell of a lot of money as they collect both from the developer (because the have to host in the app store and lose %30 or charge %30 more to make it up). My question besides a few $$ to host a web store and a hard drive MS would get 30% from a developers hard earn, laborious work. Just an example of MS screwing over and leverages others work for little or no benefit i might suggest.

10.10.2013 20:49 #5

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